Dreamwalking Poem by Glenn Cummins

I am young again
Walking through a warm Pennsylvania night
Gravel crunches beneath my feet
Crickets, an owl, and a whippoorwill
Create the soundtrack for this evening
The air has a texture to it
Not a heaviness, mind you
Rather a promise of things not yet seen

Pale moonlight illuminates my path
I sense that I am walking uphill
And though no one else is in sight
I know that I am most certainly not alone
It seems that the night has become foggy
But alas, this is not fog
As I refocus my eyes I see
Vaporous apparitions strolling past me

Intently I stare at this ethereal parade
Four beings approach me
I see them clearly at last
Ebon-haired and ruddy-complected
They whisper their story into my heart
An Iroquois family, slain by early settlers
I gaze into the sweet, innocent faces
Of two beautiful children
And tears stream down my face

Two men in blue uniforms approach
Carbines with bayonets on their shoulders
They left to fight in a great war
And never returned
Their earthly bodies still reside
In a place called Gettysburg
They tell me of the loved ones they left behind
And my tears increase

Next in the parade is a sweet young girl
Perhaps seven years of age
Curly brown hair
Dressed in her Sunday best
Boarded a train to visit kinfolk
But that train plummeted into the Allegheny River
One bright autumn day
Both the train and her remains still rest there
Her eyes meet mine
They are large and green
And sparkle in the evening light
Her story breaks my already heavy heart

I continue up the hill
And I meet many others
Though not a word has been spoken
I have heard many tales
Of woe, grief, and tragedy
And as I trudge along
Every sad thing in my own life
Boils to the surface

Why am I here?
What kinship do I have with these sad specters?
Suddenly voices explode in my head
Or in my soul, I cannot tell which at this point
All of us dwelt here
In this little corner of Western Pennsylvania
We all drank from the same crystal clear spring
We lived along its banks
And we all left this world too soon

As the realization fully dawns on me
I glance down at my own body
It shimmers with a ghostly blue light
My arms and hands are transparent
I now know that my previous dream
Was no dream
My car skidding across the highway
The approaching truck
The deafening impact
The taste of blood in my mouth
The moments of incredible pain

But there is no pain now
I turn and look back down the hill
They are gathered together
Arms outstretched, waiting for me
There is no fear now
Only love and acceptance
I run to join my new family

I had to make that long, uphill walk
And feel their pain
As well as my own
In order to let it go forever