I was walking through a dream.

I fell asleep and shoes not meant for me appeared.
I put them on and stepped out the door.
Men and women passed and smiled, greeting as if I were one of their own.
They ushered along and I followed.

We entered a home and they showed me new furniture
and kitchen appliances;
speaking in a language I did not understand.
I smiled and answered in words also unknown.
We ate and danced for hours,
looking through magazines of dinner parties and picket fences.

A woman, fair and beautiful, took my hand
and we walked in the garden.
We kissed under the moonlight and she whispered something soft,
which I feigned to understand.

We returned.
The men and women were smiling,
holding a cradle and a wedding gown.
She looked up at me with hopeful eyes,
and I lowered my head in sadness.
When my eyes found hers, they were wet with tears.

The men and women began to slowly fade
and she briefly grasped my hand,
pleadingly,
Before vanishing into the silence.
Two worlds departing,
which may hold hands,
but only for a moment.

I opened my eyes, with a heavy heart,
into the reality of me.
Waking from the dream, which can never be,
the tragic reality I see.