Dreamland Poem by Smoky Hoss

I dream that all my dreams
have been cancelled.
Put in sealed cans
upon a dark shelf
at the far end of my soul, marked:
'only open in the event of an emergency'.

I try to unzip the cloak of this dream,
to escape, back to reality.
But, it's no use, there is no pull
on this nightmare, no ready exit
into the world of awake.

In my dream of no dreams
I slowly come to understand
that all of my dreams
are old relics of the mind,
the remaining ruins
of former illusions,
like faded photographs
of places no longer there.

In the middle of this awareness
it comes to me:
'This is an emergency'.
I turn back to the shelf
that holds my old dreams.
There is only one can remaining.
I open it.
It is then I notice the buttons on the cloak.
I unfasten them,
and step out.

In that brief liminal place
between dreaming and waking
I turn and look back into the darkness,
I see the can laying there, open,
inside is my heart, beating;
quickly, before becoming fully cognizant,
I reach back, take it,
and place it within me.
Suddenly and finally
I land wide awake.
I wrap my arms around myself to stretch, and
just maybe,
to hug the only dream I have left...

(This was a real dream I had.)