A Dream While Not Sleeping

Frustrated and sad as I lie in my bed,

I get up and take a walk to

Clear my head.

As I open my front door a burst of wind

Blows my hair away from my face

And brings with it

The sounds and smells of the warm night.

It is very windy but there are few clouds,

And the moon's rays show their white light

On the ground, and

Every once in awhile a cloud blocks the rays

Making it look as if the street is a shimmering

Sea and the moon rays are waves

Ebbing in and out of soft sandy surf.

From somewhere I hear a night bird singing its song

And imagine a seagull flying by

Now I am there on the beach

Walking along the surf with my bare feet and

The moon's light and the bird's song guiding me

Along the soft white sand

The wind is the sound of the waves

The sidewalk and streets are the shimmering

Waters of the sea and the bird singing is a seagull

Begging for my scraps or luring a fish to

The top of the sea.

Just as I get deeply involved in my thoughts

Of my wonderful nighttime walk

Along the sandy surf

A shrill sound erupts from down the street

An ambulance siren brings me reluctantly back

To the reality of my neighborhood, I stumble

Over the pile that is my neighbor's trash,

Then look in shake my head at the overgrown

Lawn of the same neighbor, who

Has been gone for weeks.

So I turn and walk back inside

Close the door and lie down and,

Think god I cannot wait,

To get to the beach.