He used to watch me sleep.
—did he see me dreaming?
He used to bring me flowers,
—did he know why?
I told him my dreams
—he only laughed
He shrugged then forgot
Then he forgot flowers
And began to remind me
Of the world without dreams
Of responsibility and what’s fair
He asked
When will you?
What are you?
How can you?
Why?
I smiled and continued dreaming
Hoping he would soon join me
But he couldn’t let me sleep.
He couldn’t let go
Who he said I was
Finally,
He cast aside my silly dreams
—will he watch her sleep?
And has room for someone new
—Will she dream?
Tuesday Kuykendall 