Cutting Through Disturbing Dreams *

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* second photo & poem for paid subscribers everyone (unpaywalled)

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Kennewick, Washington — Photo by Jonathan Potter ⓒ 2024

Cutting through disturbing dreams
To wake up this morning, I stepped
Outside and saw the sky pressed down
On the horizon and the
Trees reaching up to tickle the
Clouds, perchance to make them rain.

And so it did rain, meager
Droplets cutting through the 
Layers of my thoughts to reach me
Standing there in the backyard
With my dog wondering when we
Might go for our morning walk.

And so we did, go for that
Walk, the rain coming and going,
The sky offering resistance,
My dog pulling at the leash,
My mother trailing steps behind
As we cut through the meager

Saturday reality,
The day giving way to something
We couldn't quite put finger on,
Or paw, until we turned back
Towards home and a breakfast of
Fried egg and avocado.

My wife would've cut through that
Breakfast with proper cutlery,
But my mother and I tore through
It on toast with our bare teeth —
Because we are Americans —
And the dog waited for crumbs.

And for the rest of the day
I cut through knots of employment
To unravel a few dollars,
And I considered the roses
And their thorny stems waiting to
Be further pruned for blooming.

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