Wild Dreams

I used to have a regular soul
Lived my tidy life
Crisp white sheets
Lovely dreams predictable

Sidewalks flat with measured cracks
Highway lines well centered
Parties with the in-crowd
Full of sparkling white smiles

Why now?
My dreams take a wild turn
Dump me from my bed
Sprawled upon the floor
I sleep with no rest
I dream of raging rivers
Ice floes creaking and groaning
Pile-ups high and bright
Train wheels clacking

Wake to find my bed sheets
Torn and messed
In the mirror
Some wild adventurer stares at me

Must be the winter broke
Spring thaw caught me
Tossed into the mud
Crazy eyed my pulse pounding

Those cookie cutter moments
The streets all look the same
I can’t find my door
They all look the same

My key opens the lock
But the rooms are all strange
Whose home is this?
And who is that looking back at me?

I go out into the street
To walk with the strangers
Why not?
My dreams are no wilder than this

I leave what I have known
All I worked so hard for
My beautiful house
My well-groomed friends

Vodka martinis
Oh so shiny cars
I go to the street
To recover my simple self

Sometimes the crazy thing
The reckless thing
Is what sets us free

~ Rumi Would Have Laughed, by Winston Hampton