The Dreams in Heat

The Dreams in Heat

When the fever finds you,

And you start sliding sideways through your day,

Will you know a new truth,

Or will confusion crash through your thoughts,

And strand you on unrecognizable shores,

Skin-soaked and greasy?

When the fever touches you,

And even music harshes your ear,

Where does time flee then?

Will all that you observe seem slanted,

Smeared and slippery,

Or will you find a clarity you cannot capture?

When the fever holds you,

Do conversations seem trivial and unserious,

Or are they fragments of a shattered day,

Easily ignored and left behind?

Or are they too important,

And thus forgotten being too hard to face?

When the fever has you,

Will you recognize it’s cracked perspectives,

The lost cohesions so familiar and comfortable,

Now jagged pieces forming new puzzles,

Rare and strangely mechanical.

Will you try to find sense in the hot chaos?

When the fever takes you,

Will you know old things about yourself,

Hidden behind the fragile walls of self-worth?

Or will you run toward the walking nightmare,

A new life crafted from shards and sour odors.

Will you welcome your old friend?

When the fever comes,

What will be left of you?

When the fever comes,

Will you find things you didn’t know you’d lost?

When the fever comes,

Will you take the ride?

Cliff Lake 2/13/2023

CliffSongs