Dream For An Insomniac

Sleepless nights bring unwelcome visitors

Dreaming of embers from the edge of September

The autumn that brought me your lies

The ghost of a sigh and the infinite why

That haunts me and with earnest green eyes

 

The lure of your arms, the risk of your charms

Paints me with bitter regret

Love is a chain, a bitter refrain

From the loss of an unplaced bet

 

A highway drive, a smoky dive

A singer who taught you to dance

The twist and twirl of a starry eyed girl

Who held out her arms for romance

 

A crisp edged voice, a silent choice

Comes courting across the lost years

I am lost and I’m found within the sound

Of the words I so longed to hear

 

The call is immense, your passion intense

A welcome respite from the grief

With all that I am I reach out my hand

For the hope of your promised relief

 

Then flags unfurled you wreck my world

With a truth that is unwanted yet

I wake to the strains of November Rain

I love you and cannot forget

 

-Zoe Richardson

Author's Note

"I dreamed a dream in time gone by..."

Reviews

[Fabian G. Franklin]

Passion filled and threatening as a thundercloud, this one is full of bound energy; darkness looming behind flashes of light. It's like a summer's day that was promising and bright turning dark in the afternoon. Delightful read.

[Zoe Richardson]

It's meant to convey the loss of something promising, so yes, a summer afternoon turned to storm fits quite well! I'm glad you found this one enjoyable.

[shadrach hah]

Hi Zoe, you have such a wonderful way with words. So gently your words sing of love's pain. You let the emotion flow and the heart feels what the emotions of the poem portray. I find great beauty in the sadness. Love sings in so many different ways. Have a wonderful Friday. Hugs always....Mike.

[Zoe Richardson]

I have never known love that didn't involve pain. I don't mean that to sound stark. It's just the truth. It's part of my fabric, that beauty in the sadness. Not because I am bitter and defeated. But because I choose to bring beauty to it, and express it. I am so pleased you enjoy my work. I do balance it with less melancholy pieces. I look forward to seeing what you think of those!

[shadrach hah]

As poets, we go where the soul takes us. The emotions are always flowing through your work and no matter what the emotion you always write from the heart and the reader can tell this. Never stop writing from the heart, Zoe. Have a wonderful Saturday. Hugs always....Mike.

[lovelymarina]

"With a truth that is unwanted yet
I wake to the strains of November Rain
I love you and cannot forget"

You couldn't have chosen words that summed it up better than this. Those sleepless nights... where all you could do is sob from tainted memories of a lover you'll most likely never get back... this one hurt. Thank you so much for your writing, you're extremely talented...
Xx
Marina

[Zoe Richardson]

Thank you so much! Your words are so kind, and so welcome. I am glad you truly grasped the meaning and emotion here. What we can't face when we are awake, we wrestle with in our dreams. Please stop by anytime!

[Adeline E. Weathers]

I have no words, but awe. My coffee mug seems happy with that too. You have a lovely way with words and the feelings in them. Keep it up!!

[Zoe Richardson]

What a kind thing to say! I appreciate your taking the time to read and review. I am glad you like this poem and that it made your coffee mug happy!

[Adeline E. Weathers]

I subscribed to read more of your works!! Hope you're having a lovely day, 'cuz I am.

[Kerra]

I just had to reread your last stanza, three times because it just sums up your whole write perfectly, When you said you woke up to strains of November Rain, I automatically thought of the song "November Rain" By Guns and Roses.....You are a wonderful poetess. You know how to write a poem....

[Zoe Richardson]

I wondered when someone was going to get that reference! That is one of those lines that can mean more than one thing, and in this case it is both a song, and a weather event. You are so clever for knowing this! I appreciate all your kind words and thoughts. Please don't be a stranger!

[Kerra]

I will try and get around and read more

[barleygirl]

Not many poets at the cafe can pump rhyme & rhythm to a point of distraction for me. I was loving your well-crafted construction so much, I wasn't reading for content, first time around. Still, your message is peppy, clever & fulsome, not compromised a bit by lots of attention to wordcrafting (((HUGS)))

[Zoe Richardson]

Funny thing is...I wasn't concentrating on the wordcrafting when I wrote this. Not at first. It was the best way to describe the dream I had and the truth it left in its wake. All the effort was in the message. It is amazing to me you fell into the rhythm and rhyme and found such meaning there. That is the beauty of sharing with other poets and having them read your work. It's like creating an onion, instead of peeling one!

[Julie McCarthy (juliesp..]

This is beautiful as soon as I started to read I found myself humming sounds of silence by Simon and Garfunkel
Beautiful poem x

[Zoe Richardson]

Simon and Garfunkle are poetry. It is so amazing you would even think this is comparable. I've loved them since I was little, and stand in awe of their profundity. This is just the gasping of my mind in the aftermath of a dream. I am so, so glad you liked it and chose to say so.

[John the Baptist]

The first line reminded me somewhat of "The Raven," and while the stories are different, the spirit is the same. Love has been lost and there is no sign of its retrieval. The darkness will be lifted "nevermore."

[Zoe Richardson]

Strange you should mention that... when I was three, my father sat me in his lap and read to me from his college textbooks. One of the first poems he read was The Raven. That is when I fell in love with poetry. They say nothing is new under the sun, and poets love to pine over loss. It is supremely complimentary for you to say this embodies the spirit of Poe's work. Bless you and thank you a thousand times.

[Pryde Foltz]

Superb penning, you easily tap into fine inspiration and practice restraint and skill.

Important to remember these moment describe took two creators. One of them was you; you may forget yourself but you can never lose it:)

Look forward to more writes:)

[Zoe Richardson]

Bless you, Pryde. (I love your name, btw.) I suppose I should thank the source for the inspiration. You have reminded me to be grateful, instead of bitter. You are wise and kind, and I thank you for reading this!

[Pryde Foltz]

Thank you. Name since birth:)