dreamwork

It’s 9 o’clock my time
barely three for you
but it’s no matter
we’re decades apart —
not hours —
only ghosts
here in the library
where I race to find
the book
I need you to read
before the alarm goes off
and I wake to the day
where it’s just a fine gold thread
that connects us now.

I pass long tall stacks
of coffee table books and
the bust of Blackstone
in the halls of recorded memory —
yours and mine —
and you seem not to notice
the immediacy of the moment
when I approach with insistence,
your retired posture almost welcome
were it not for the clock ticking
next to me in the bed we used to share,

but by then the words have disappeared
from the pages in your lap
and in exchange, a collage of
nonsensical images
fall to the ground at your feet
rendering me speechless
in that dreamworld way,
paralyzed by all I have left to say,
gasping for moonlit breaths.

Poem and photo ©2025, Jen Payne. The bust in the photo is actually James’ son Timothy but that’s too many syllables. If you like this poem, you’ll love my new book SLEEPING WITH GHOSTS, on sale now!

Dream Encounter 050724

A poet and a sculptor
were walking
at Long Point Trail
sometime after midnight,
the moon was dimmed
by evening clouds
so while the bear
definitely looked like a bear,
the two tigers
were harder to discern.

He, the sculptor,
backed away quietly,
tucked himself
inside a cabinet
of curiosities,
emerged apologetically
as Hubbell Gardiner,
and disappeared up
the misty woods road.

She, the poet,
picked up a driftwood stick
and stood her ground,
roared like a lion
until the bear ran for its life,
turned to face the tigers
then knelt down
and offered them tender kisses
and soft gentle strokes
along wicked, wild stripes.

Poem ©2024 Jen Payne. Photo of Baloo and Shere Khan, two of the beloved trio BLT (Baloo, Shere Khan, and Leo) from the Noah’s Ark Animal Sanctuary. Click here for the story. If you like this poem, you can read similar in my books and zines, available from Three Chairs Publishing on my ETSY SHOP. They come autographed, with gratitude and a small gift.