This sonnet dates from 2011, and yet remains pertinent today.
I had this dream, but it wasn’t mine, you know--
prim and proper, pretty, neat, all ducks in a row.
I’d believed in it for a good number of years,
the trouble began when life began shifting gears.
Life has a crazy way of changing things around;
you think you’ve set sail, then, your ship, it runs aground.
This chimera seemed so real, something I could trust;
it slowly turned to ashes, and from that to dust.
A fog burned off. There I stood, alone and dazed,
right back where I’d started when I’d entered the maze.
What now? Pull out my hair? Gnash away my teeth?
Fling myself from some great height? Cry out in the street?
Utter sigh. Dust self off. Choose direction. Go.
Find a dream that’s mine alone. Let my garden grow.
Declaimed here: https://aprillynnjames.com/track/4816913/i-had-this-dream
Have you ever discovered that dreams or memories that you've referred to for years aren't really yours? That somehow, at some point, someone else's beliefs planted themselves in your mind?
Time to dig up those extraneous notions, toss them out and then consult the compass found in one's heart.
As always, feel free to comment!