If Life's A Nightmare, What's A Dream?
©2009 Bailey Thompson
As he lay in his warm bed
Visions of perfection danced in his head
While tears of pain were shed
During the day when he wished he was dead
For him, night was perfect
He would drift away and dream
And days were filled with neglect
Too many tears, whispers and screams
Why? His father liked to drink
His mother was long since dead
His father didn’t care, he didn’t think
The boy found happiness with dreams in his head
Tonight was like any other
As he drifted off to sleep
Alone without a mother
To tuck in his sheet
He drifted to a deep slumber
He couldn’t hear the glasses banging
Like they had ever since he could remember
He couldn’t hear the ice cubes clanging
He was only dreaming
But it was better than reality
For the reality was missing,
Forgotten was his dad’s mean personality
He could see his mom stand there
Too far to touch, close enough to see
The wind whipped through her blonde hair
As she walked toward him, happy as could be
Her arms wrapped around him
And she kissed him on the cheek
She told him she loved him
That she hadn’t seen him since last week
She held his hand
And led him farther
Through the unknown land
Then she sat, he sat beside her
Where he was, he didn’t know
But he was with his mother
So it didn’t matter, wherever they go,
As long as he stayed with her
She looked deep into his eyes
And asked about his father
He didn’t make up lies
He told her not to bother
She went very quiet then
She didn’t say a word
“I’m sorry” She said when
there was nothing else to be heard
He wanted to stay with her forever
He loved her more than he had his Dad
He knew better: They’d never be together
In real, like before, what they had
“Where are we?” He finally said
His mother answered, “We’re in heaven”
Then he realized it – he was dead
“You died, you were only seven”
He didn’t care that he died
He didn’t care he was in heaven
He just wanted to be by his mother’s side
He knew this, even at age seven.
As he lay in his warm bed
The dream of perfection danced in his head
While tears of pain were shed
During the day when he wished he was dead