fourth year annette aguilar

every morning that i wake

i remember - or try to remember -

what my mind created in sleep

between twists and turns

and flutter of eyelids

dreams come alive

they create pleasant dancing plums

or force you to wake with tears in your eyes

so i try and tell their stories

to the one who knows best

my mother said to dream of dirty water meant gossip

so i walked away from the fountain i was drinking

and listened to the way my name flowed

on the tongues of others

she said to dream of an old lover meant hardships

so i texted _____ to see how he was doing

and found that he had been swallowed whole and spat

on the roof of my old home

she said to dream of falling teeth meant silence

so i kept my retainer on even while speaking

and noticed how hard it was to let out my voice

on the days my keyboard was not enough

she said to dream of a white dress meant heartbreak

so i closed myself off from the ones i was loving

and failed to realize how lonely it was

on the way back from the store empty handed

but

when I told her that now

i only dreamt in colors

like the way the sky morphs from black to blue to purple

to pink to orange to red to yellow

she said i no longer needed her

for long did she hope my life would be colors

and i would see them in everything

the way people become blue

the way flowers become purple

the way scars become pink

the way teeth become yellow

the way lovers become red

the way night becomes black

the way dance becomes orange

the way i become colors

to dream in colors

she said

was to dream of

everything

Dream Interpretations