Dreamy

By Cliff Lake

 

Dreamy

 

One-trick mirror and the long reflection,

See myself clearer in vivisection.

Fearing an interior misdetection

Always getting nearer where the dark dreams beckon.

 

And here I am again,

Found at the dark dream dead-end.

Here I am again,

Impossible to unattend.

Here I am again,

Less and less to recommend,

More and more to apprehend,

Dark dreams beckon like a friend –

And here I am again.

 

The long forbidden corridor,

Not quite so hidden as before,

Forgotten horror kept in store,

I am my own conspirator.

 

And here I am again,

Found at the dark dream dead-end.

Here I am again,

Impossible to unattend.

Here I am again,

Less and less to recommend,

More and more to apprehend,

Dark dreams beckon like a friend –

And here I am again.

 

With what do I contend?

What reality to unbend?

Some fantasy to amend,

Hallucinations to defend,

Or self-delusion that I tend.

Still downward I descend,

Knitting up the loose ends:

No use trying to pretend…

 

Found in the depth of possibility,

Rather, the sinking inevitability:

Just the last chance integrity,

I look again and the dark is me.

 

And here I am again,

Found at the dark dream dead-end.

Here I am again,

Impossible to unattend.

Here I am again,

Less and less to recommend,

More and more to apprehend,

Dark dreams beckon like a friend –

And here I am again.

 

One-trick mirror and the long reflection,

Always getting nearer where the dark dreams beckon.

See myself clearer in vivisection,

Down here where the dark dreams beckon.

Things are clearer

Where the dark dream beckons.

Come nearer,

The dark dream beckons…

 

Cliff Lake 5/30/2026

Copyright © Clifford Lake 2026

Location: Wichita, KS, USA

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