Saving face

I had a dream last night that my teeth fell out,

And I remember reading somewhere that that means money worries

And I wonder

If I dreamt that my hair fell out

What I’d be worrying about then

Maybe about my thoughts,

Each one,

Gossamer thin,

Landing on my shoulders and floating away into the dusk

I lose many, every day,

But losing clumps,

Like politicians making

Office,

Forgetting every voice

Which spoke for them

Like my grandma

Forgetting who I was in the hospital room,

Makes my lungs shiver.

An arrow of despair drawn from a quiver of fear

Strapped to my back,

Daily, never quite loosening enough

To allow my arms to move free.

And I wonder,

If I dreamt about losing my clothes,

If id be worrying about losing my armor

Falling to my knees,

Hands open, heels bare

At the mercy of the pleas

Of the pasts I want to forget.

Like feathers plucked one by one

From the wings of an angel

And tucked into the brim of a hat

my mind is losing its will to fly.

For every night where the blankets are to heavy

The room too hot

My heart too cold,

I wonder what is left

Of that temple by the river

Where we used to play as children

Drunken gods crumbling away into

The weeds, chunks of rock

Covered in graffittied regret

As a sparrow sings yesterday from

The harvest crops.

I wonder, if I dream about losing teeth

Maybe I’m dreaming about what it might take to break this smile

A crater between mountains.