The car pulled up. I couldn’t tell the make of it. Smooth and curved. Nothing harsh, angular or metallic. It was parked and waiting for something. One long oval window stretched from end to end. There was no driver; just passengers with smiling faces. Hands waved at me, saying hello. Or motioning me to join them? Then I saw. These were beloved faces. My two aunts and uncles. My mother, father and brother. All wanting me to join them. So happy. So inviting.
I woke up groggy, sitting up in bed; in the middle of the night. Then I remembered the car. The waving. Who they were. Wanting me to join them. But they’d been dead for many years. I whispered aloud, “Not now. I can’t. Not yet.”
Next thing I knew, the alarm was ringing. Time to rise and shine and get on with my day. It wasn’t until lunch at work that I remembered it all. Exactly as I wrote it here.
frost glazes window
dog sleeps nearby, legs twitching
runs from what in dream
I’m hosting Tuesday Poetics at dVerse, the virtual pub for poets. Today I’m asking folks to write a poem somehow related to a dream or dreaming….they can take us inside a dream, create a dream, write about the process of dreaming — be it a nightmare, a daydream, a hallucination, or a suspended state. Pub opens at 3 PM Boston time. Come join us!
lillian the home poet 
I’ve had a similar dream, Lill. It made me cry.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I totally understand.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow, what a dream. I’m wondering if it was sad or reassuring? It sounded like a positive dream.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Very interesting you should ask that Sarah. As I remembered it, I actually concentrated on their faces and their smiles….and that they were all together. So I felt comfortable with the dream…..and, if it did happen in my dream or when I sat up in bed (because maybe that was a part of the dream as well?), that I said no…I couldn’t join them yet….their smiles made me understand they are alright with that and that they are waiting happily for me. So….it turns out, I am at peace with the dream. But to this day, I remember it well. I told my husband about it the next day….and he remembers the telling as well. It had to have been at least 10 years ago…but I still remember it clearly.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sounds potent!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I don’t usually remember dreams….except for maybe a few hours when I wake up. But this dream has stayed with me for at least 10 years….I remember it so well.
LikeLiked by 1 person
What a vivid dream. a dream like this sounds like we are being told something
LikeLiked by 1 person
It was so vivid, Bjorn….that after 10 years, I still remember it. I told my husband about it the next day….and I asked him after I wrote this…am I remembering this correctly? And he remembers me telling him about it…exactly like this. I choose to be comfortable with it….thinking it means they are all together somewhere in the cosmos, waiting patiently for me.
LikeLike
That could be very unnerving. The haiku sums it well!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ah Mary…you’re the only one so far who mentions the haiku. I remember seeing our dogs lying asleep and suddenly their legs would start twitching and moving and yet they would still be sound asleep. I always wondered what they were chasing in their sleep 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
for some it may be very disturbing, but for me I feel peace and joy knowing my loved ones are together.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Gina, yes! That is exactly how I choose to decipher it. I remember it distinctly…and it was about 10 years ago. My husband remembers me telling him about it. I take solace in the fact that they were all together and smiling….and yes, that they were okay with me not joining them then….that they are waiting for me patiently on the other side.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I took deep comfort in your sharing, you are the angel of good news to me today!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oooooo! I’ve had that dream too! Nan
Sent from my iPhone
>
LikeLiked by 1 person
Loved ones waiting for us….we know they will be there. I actually took comfort in this dream rather than being frightened by it. Also seeing them all together and smiling….that made me happy.
LikeLike
Dreams do function like this… and then you wake relieved! I still dream of the classroom and children who don’t pay attention!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I find it interesting when people in the real world, or people who were in our real world, show up in them.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Perhaps things left undone!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh. Oh. How you remembered or perhaps how it came back. beautifully written, Lillian. I hope the dream was more reassuring than sad. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
It was indeed! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Haibun in a perfect form for the prompt, and I like that the haiku portion is not your dream, but the dog’s!
LikeLiked by 1 person
We used to have two German Shepherds and they slept on the floor beside our bed. I remember seeing exactly this and wondering what they were chasing in their dream! 🙂
LikeLike
That was a scary dream.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well…..at first I thought it was. But then I took comfort that they were all together and they were all smiling. I came to the conclusion that they are patiently waiting for me on the other side. And I will see them all together again. 🙂 I choose to believe that.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Isn’t it something how our dreams will remind us of the important things in our lives?
This reminds me of something similar, and I’m composing it as another response to your prompt.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I so appreciated your post and the pingback. I was reminded of our visit to Grieg’s house and the small cabin further down a path. The cottage has a large window right onto a lake and is supposedly where Grieg did a lot of composing. Quite an amazing place to visit.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Being there and understanding its place in history would be amazing, indeed.
LikeLike
It sounded scary to me–like a Twilight Zone episode. 🙂 But I saw above that it was not, that you said you weren’t ready, and they were OK with it. So, I’m glad that’s the way it was, and I can see where that would actually be comforting. Such a vivid dream. It seems real.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh yes, Merril. It absolutely did seem real. I saw there faces so very plainly. And, especially my one aunt and uncle, had been gone a very very long time. They were my godparents.
LikeLiked by 1 person
A nice feeling to know that people are waiting for you when your time comes.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes indeed. I choose to believe that 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have had dreams where the departed and I meet. I feel blessed to know they are okay and waiting on the other side of now. I think through dreams they are able to reach out to us.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Truedessa, I totally agree. Thank you for your thoughtful comment here.
LikeLike
In my country, there is a myth that there lies a river called “Sanzu” flowing between this side and the underworld, which the departed are said to cross. It is said that once one crosses the Sanzu River, he or she can never be able to return back to this side. Some people who came out of a coma often tell their experience that they were standing on this side of the river and were called from the other side by someone they are familiar with saying “Come to this side, come join us now.” It is said the inviting voices are very sweet and tempting. Those who appartently crossed the river never come out of a coma and those who decided not to follow the voice return to this real world again. I luckily have not had that experience so far.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Kenji: This is a wonderful comment. I was with my mother when she died….I was standing beside her at her bedside…I leaned in and whispered to her…look for the light mom. Dad is over there…don’t be afraid to cross over to it. I think this is the same idea….a river that separates our world from the world of the dead. But I hope that the other side is a pleasant one…that the current is not too strong and there is a comfort to the water and the waves. So good to see you commenting here, Kenji. I am very glad you are lucky so far.
LikeLike
Yes, exactly. The other side is hoped to be pleasant and the current is not too strong and shallow enough to cross easily for most of the people who lead a calm and honest life. You did such a wonderful thing to your mother at her bedside, which must have given her a peacefulness and courage to cross over to it.
LikeLiked by 1 person