Dreaming

Fading in from the waking life,

A house inside a tree

Hollowed out, and hallowed ground,

Creatures of all belief overwhelm

Occupants of a dream realm

A gallery of branches abound.

They recognize me somehow,

In the stretching boughs

Of this expansive hollowed tree trunk.

The creatures tip their hats

As they wander past

Welcoming me to their humble stump.

Sat across a wooden table,

Eyes clearing I’m able

To recognise my grandad, who’s recently died

His grizzled bearded face

Creased with hard Liverpudlian crease

Tell tale of his hard Liverpudlian life.

A rat saunters near

Bipedal, with a sneer

He approaches, sinister almost

Dressed in Dickensian garb,

Eyes beady and sharp,

He raises a tankard in toast.

“We’ve met here before,

Upon this shore

Inside this darkened bark.

I have for you a simple task,

But first a test you have to pass

Before you do embark.”

We solved riddle, and puzzle,

Word games, and numbers,

Pastimes my grandad so loved while living.

Upon a final challenge,

The rat clapped and laughed,

Claiming us worthy of his quizzing.

“Outside this tree, in the stream,

You’ll find a boat, sleek and lean,

That will take you onward hence.

A precious package rests onboard

You will deliver to a far off sward,

Go quickly now, commence.”

Upon the boat, we took our places

Little placards denoting our spaces,

Among a crowd of many.

Water churned past the hull,

While folks lingered until

We were approached by members

Of a quartet.

“How long it has been,

Since you’ve journeyed with us,

Only a boy here for the show.

We remember your face,

From when you came to this place

All those many years ago.

How much you have grown

A man come into his own,

A great heart all the way through.

We’ll play now for you,

Before you wake and come to,

These strings will sing beautifully true.”

Haunting music poured with hand sleight

The strings, made of moonlight,

Illuminated the hall in which they played

A song of autumn leaves

And winter breeze

While we approached the glade.

After the bows were lowered,

And the notes had settled,

The ship nestled upon the embankment.

Striding with us from the boat

Came those still afloat

Bidding adieu with their ascent.

Remembering the task

Given to us by the rat,

I asked after the package.

The violinist she smiled,

A teary glint in her eye,

“The parcel is with you now”.

Striding ashore to a flowered mead’

My mind’s eye overcome by a bed

Shining with vivid colours so pure.

Next to the bank at long last

Water pure coursing past,

My grandad paused, now unsure.

Upon a stone bench,

He sat quite entrenched,

Patting the seat for me to sit.

I sat down beside

Stretched out, legs astride

The field now becoming twilit.

“I have tried to teach you lessons

For the time we’ve had together

With the hope you would succeed.

Now I have passed on,

When you wake I’ll be gone,

And my lessons are memories to heed.”

He leaned back, tired eyes

Focused on azure skies

Wind rustling petals halfhearted.

Holding his hand for a time

I felt it go limp in mine,

As the spirit of a spirit departed.

One by one they came,

The creatures from the dream

Surrounding us on the bench.

They arrived in their wistful state

Each ambling at their own gait,

Fantasy faces tear drenched.

It came to me through the fog

From past dialogue,

These creatures had lived in a previous dream.

Saw a younger version of me

The man they now see,

The continuation of another night it would seem

These manifestations of mind,

These created entities,

Had over time watched me grow.

Recognised the changes in my voice

The changes in my soul,

Their existence to me they did owe.

Self reflection through apparition creation.

Here they gathered,

To share in my pain.

From the recesses of my memory,

Paying respects for my mourning,

Until the following day.

“I will see you once again dear friends

On another shore, another end,

Perhaps when it is my time to die.

You live within me,

On the river, in a tree,

I’ll join you amongst another night sky.”

With a jolt I awoke,

In a heap of pillows, tears soaked

Reminiscing of my grandad’s face.

Eyes closed, leaning back,

I am at peace, knowing that,

There will be friends to greet him when he wakes.