A list of dreams
- Ruby Porter
On Wikipedia
there is a list of dreams
a man invented the sewing machine from a nightmare
his cannibals had holes
in the tips of their spears.
Watson saw a spiral staircase
spinning the double helix
and a French man found Benzene
in a dream about snakes
swallowing each other’s tails.
I never dreamt of you much, I mean nothing by that
except that maybe
I loved you
before I knew you
and not much after.
In the US, a penny
and a nickel
cost twice their worth to mint.
We all lose something daily.
We all lose something daily.
I’m not bitter
the cost of you
was not that high
I’ve turned round the mirror on my bedside table
stood on scales
for the first time in years
in a way, it’s all my doing.
In Massachusetts, a woman with an itchy scalp scratched right through to her brain.
You always fingered too hard
never knew which bus to catch
and this time my break up song was
I Don’t Fuck With You by Big Sean
and E-40
once
a town was struck by inexplicable dancing
the plague lasted a month
several died
on their feet
danced right to death
you taught me that.
You can mix purple and brown to get a black darker than black
I taught you that
In New York, the penalty for jumping off a building is death.
In New York, the penalty for jumping off a building is death.
Last night I dreamt
that you were peeling off my skin
starting at my fingertips
stopping only
to tie knots in my veins
or maybe that was me
but it was you, you I know it
who left me for a man
at a public swimming pool
that lit your mouth full of gravel
and words we didn’t know
Honey, they weren’t real
I promise, I simply screamed
goodbye
and jumped in with my jeans on.
Earth is the only place that isn’t named after a god
Caligula was kicked from the heavens
by Jupiter
a day before his assassination and Abraham Lincoln
dreamt of his death
he could hear mourners
for three nights in a row
for three nights in a row
he could hear mourners
but room after room he found
empty
until he came to the one
with his own body
lain straight.
In Chicago, a man faked his death certificate
to get out of a cell phone contract
please
let me off easy