In the dream, I was moving about

a 4-story house. People were on each floor. I was looking for pen & paper to write down a poem.

As I moved up the stairs, the

situation seemed to become more frantic. Now I had 2 — 3 — no, 4! — poems in mind. And no pants.

At the highest level, mind

whirling, I passed a man, played by William Shatner, who called out a lament. His wife sobbed, “why are you doing this to yourself?” His

son grabbed me and said, “this isn’t at all like you said it would be.”

Make the people disappear and give me a pen! Just then

the alarm sounded.

What follows is the only remotely poetic fragment to survive the chaos. I offer it as evidence of how much

better dreams are than reality. Still, it has some humor and a complex touch; somehow, it involves 5 people in 5 lines.

When I met

my brother’s
ex-girlfriend’s husband,
I said,
“oh, brother,
are you lucky.” mjh