Dreaming of Andrew
There he, is my dear husband, not dead after all. How
could he have been here all this time and I didn’t know?
Still white-haired, he’s walking freely. His beautiful face,
when he sees me coming towards him, fills with a glow.
He’s in a little stone house by the beach. I’ve not seen
this place before, but he has been living here it seems,
cared for by an old friend of ours who, it turns out, owns
this cottage. (No need to explain things further in dreams.)
We are so happy! Together again, what rapture!
… Even after I wake up, I can still recapture
that joy, so strong in the dream that it stays with me now –
a sure foundation which nothing will ever fracture.
A Rubaiyat, for Poetry Forms – The Rubaiyat at dVerse. I learn online that 'Rubaiyat' refers to both the ancient Persian poetic form and to its English variants. Reading that the original Persian had 13 syllables per line and no set metre, I thought I'd try that. The rhyme scheme is one of several traditional variations. I found the 13-syllable line unexpectedly hard to manage and the results rather prosey. However, even Fitzgerald's translation of Omar is more philosophical than imagistic a lot of the time, so I'll let it be.
A Rubaiyat, for Poetry Forms – The Rubaiyat at dVerse. I learn online that 'Rubaiyat' refers to both the ancient Persian poetic form and to its English variants. Reading that the original Persian had 13 syllables per line and no set metre, I thought I'd try that. The rhyme scheme is one of several traditional variations. I found the 13-syllable line unexpectedly hard to manage and the results rather prosey. However, even Fitzgerald's translation of Omar is more philosophical than imagistic a lot of the time, so I'll let it be.
Yes, the dream and its aftermath did happen, quite recently. I realise with hindsight that the dream cottage was at a beach which was the scene of the joyful reunion of a long-parted couple in a movie I saw not long ago; and the friend who owned the cottage in my dream is someone who did sometimes come and spend time with Andrew in his final months, when I was his carer, so that I could go out for a walk.
How wonderful to have such a sweet dream-visit! I can see the glow on his face, and even the cottage. Maybe he is really there waiting, though for our sake i hope it is long.
ReplyDeleteA wonderful visit for a beautiful love ❤️
ReplyDeleteI love the serendipity in life. There is so much we don't know....
ReplyDeleteRosemary, to have dreams like this, make the ache of daily life, worthwhile. Only hope that you continue to have such dreams, filled with love and compassion.
ReplyDeleteI like how you described the glow of your husband's face upon recognizing you. Nice approach to the form.
ReplyDeleteRosemary, first off, I love your dream and how you fit it into the form. As to figuring out where the cottage was, if that feels "right" to you, then it is so. If it feels like it was something else, it may be. The subconscious uses what it has at hand to get its messages to us. Your husband's face filling with glow had to bring such joy and peace to you <3
ReplyDeleteMartin used to say: "Meet me on the astral plane" before we slept or if we were apart, and it seems your dream is one part of that place. I was impressed with your rhymes because I barely noticed them as well as putting the whole together into 13 syllables
ReplyDeleteWell, some of them are slant rhymes (smile).
DeleteI hope you and Martin are still meeting, too!
I think the enjambment helps with the 13-syllable problem. I'll have to try that--I could not get 13 syllables to work at all, but yours flows well.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely dream, too. Made me smile to think of it.
This is wonderful.... trying out the thirteen syllable version, and with such a story. A dream like this seems like almost a greeting...
ReplyDeletei love the story telling here, it flows well, a dream within a dream
ReplyDeleteIt is truly wonderful when the joy, or love, or positive energy of a dream sustains after the waking. I've had several dreams over the years in which I have a wonderful visit with my son Aaron. The writing was dream like and very tender. Beautiful Rosemary!
ReplyDelete