Dream Catcher

I wrote this after Columbine when I couldn't get the horror of it out of my mind.

Dream-catcher above my head,

collect if you would the demons who

follow me into the night;

trap in your web

visions of children dying,

Innocence stolen by shotgun blasts..

Holdback dark shadows of death

stalking those not yet ready 

to depart.

Do not allow mourning mothers

wailing with loss to follow me

into the night.

Take away grotesque image

of missing faces, barren places,

empty graves reaching,

waiting to wrap around lifeless victims,

so full of life

just moments ago.

***** 

Let pass only peaceful scenes

of life and love 

and hope.

Let me dream of joy

on young faces

going places where lives will be fulfilled

and they follow their destiny,

whatever that may be.

Let me dream of harmony,

spend sleeping hours 

in Utopia...

for as I wake

the nightmares of reality

shall surely be upon me

once again.

Reviews

[Zoe Jay]

Very nice direct style, and I like the deliberate contrast in mood as you move from describing bad dreams, to describing good dreams, it gives a nice symmetry to the poem and also leads into a nice ending. The concluding lines are clever as they give the poem more weight and relevance by reminding us that your nightmares are not mere creations of the mind, they spring from the reality around us, so this poem work on two levels - it is not only talking about dreams, but about life.

[KATHY SUE SILLS]

That was AWEFUL what happened at that school! Dream catchers I like the sound of that! Great Write!

[KAREN]

Excellent writing done here! The reader was in a nightmare then back to reality! Enjoyable read!

[Robin]

When I was a Newspaper Pressman I saw reality every day and this is one of the stories that I will never forget

[Ron]

This is a GK gem. A restful night helps us fight the darkness of the day! Super poem.

[E.H. Monroe]

I had to reread the Name.
Then the Author.
And read the content twice.
How is this the same dream time poet I enjoy with warm milk?
Switching gears into the fantastical nightmare.
Leaving the reality painted in blood to a dream of the normal?
You wear plenty o faces
Now i have to hide in my basement with a sword and my cat

[Nothing Personal]

Uhhh.. A master stroke...Dream on...Oh I so love it.Get into our heads and take the image and memories of something so heinous and dark...

This is inspired writing and you have done a perfect catharsis here. Great work !!

[OT]

very powerful Gloria, and to echo Kerry's sentiments, sometimes reality offers more horror and trepidation than a darkest nightmare ever could!! well said!

[Kerry O'Connor]

A dreadful occasion which remains in all our memories... You captured well the idea that we often wake to nightmares and sleep to forget them.

[Ruth]

Passionate read and this stirs the sorrowful emotion! The world is at times unbearable, inconceivable!
I like the idea of the dreamcatcher a lot xx

[Alicia Schroeder]

Wonderful read, great write..