Dreams: Kurt Newton

waiting for the crash to happen

rainy gray
drive to work
wipers slide
a soothing metronome
ahead the white lines
wave and blur
as heavy shadows
red tail lights
diffuse behind
the foggy window
coffin cool

you could be sitting at home
in your favorite chair
dozing off to your favorite
late night television program
as the world beyond
your four white walls
battles distant wars
spills distant blood
and crumbles

or you could be in your bed
your body numbed and tired
wrapped inside
your bleached white sheets
as your mind escapes
to distant lands
and falls in love
with strangers

or you could be in your car
as rocket shells explode around you
and your lover turns out to be
the figure on the dash
and the TV screen transcends
into a thousand starlit pieces
and you close your eyes
but there is no sleep
because your dream has continued on
without you

- first appeared in Asylums and Labyrinths (1997)