***
I had a dream
where the fate strings
just ran in a circle.
Three of them,
braided in a cord,
just threads, really,
sage green, gold
and red-brown–
and they just
spun
in a circle
like a Ferris wheel
you could never get off.
And the dream
took place
in a hole in the dirt
filled with water
and algae on the water,
and the threads
did front rolls
half in the water,
half out;
sometimes
the algae
got dragged after them
and sometimes
flitting
bugs
came to investigate
or landed
until the strings
went underwater again,
then they flew away.
And while I floated
above this endless spinning,
a distant rumbling
shook the ground
so dirt
tumbled into the pit
and the water
rippled
with a dozen reflections
of my face
looking into the water
from the other end,
then
mud
and rocks fell
right through me and those faces
to cover the hole,
the strings,
and also floating-me.
And I thought:
somebody save us
before
an eon passes
and all this algae
petrifies
and the strings
compress
into crude oil–
just a few drops
between the fossils–
and some giant
or mystical being
digs it up
and uses
our endless
destinies
to light
a lamp
to ward off their child’s
sleep terrors
but instead
of casting comforting shadows
in a nursery,
the light
from the oil
unleashes
monsters on the walls,
staining stories
of our relentless tumbles
and ascents
into aftermaths
above a child’s
afternoon nap
so when they wake
and blink
all they can see
are the ways
our lives went wrong
and dreams went right
and they lose
any need
to grow up
on their own
and just
weep over us
and every brink
we brought ourselves walking to.
***
check out my book Graveyard of Lullabies at this link
Jordyn Saelor 