Dreams

Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.

-Langston Hughes (February 1, 1902-May 22, 1967)

I was taught to know my history, appreciate my culture and dream, always dream. Ever the educator and cultivator, my mother would have me and my siblings recite this poem, over and over, until I memorized it so closely verses would flow through my mind randomly and fluidly, without any effort at all.

Over time, as life became more hectic and I became more jaded, I could no longer remember a single line, apart from the first one: Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die……

The rest of it wouldn’t come to me. After some trying times in my personal life, these lines would haunt me and comfort me, until once again, they’d fade away into my mind’s library. Today, I woke up with a different purpose. I logged into my blog first thing this morning, hoping for solace in my creative expression, and the Daily Prompt greeted me, asking me to describe a nightmare I recently had.

Again, these words entered my mind quickly, soothingly. I’ve had many nightmares lately. Funny ones, silly ones, violent ones, random ones, even shared ones. Most recently, I’ve had a recurring nightmare about a person from my past. Someone I am no longer in contact with, and refuse to ever interact with again. He comes to me in my dreams and I don’t know why. The scenario is never the same, but his presence is.

I wake up, shake it off and forget about it. After a handful of recent events, he contacted me. Was this a premonition? He didn’t deserve a reply.

Although today’s prompt referred to nightmares, I thought mostly of all my dreams.

I can only recall one true nightmare: The loss of a dream.

That’s my nightmare, realized. And it’s by far the worst one yet.