Of Dreams (and Reality)

I saw a dream filled with the ebullience of your voice and the denseness of your presence.
I felt the inviting warmth of your skin against my fingertips and I ran them down your profile,
Underneath your eyes, the tip of your nose, the rise of your cheekbone, the stubborn stubble
And for a moment I held you in my hands again...
A moment, in an eternity without you, was once more ours...

You held us close, your child's arms around your waist, mine enveloping both of you
We stood as one; tears and smiles...I heard the faint echoes of our dog's exhilarated barks,
Inviting himself into this familiar embrace we have shared many times before,
And for a moment I held you in my hands again...
A moment, in an eternity without you, was once more ours.

A flash precedes the searing pain and the dream transforms
All my senses stream to a single experience of visceral emotion,
That pin me down and tear me up...so I claw myself out
From the vindictive reality embedded in it
And I lose you again, to eternity.

My thirst ...unquenched.
My hunger ...dissatisfied.
My love ...incomplete.
My eyes..open.