I awaken suddenly,
Shifting instantaneously between two states,
As quickly as one breath succeeds the other.
Taking note of the missing hours of my existence,
With no dreams to fill them -
As if I had ceased to exist in that space.

I wonder, what life have I lived
In the REM of my being, in the realm of my mind?
And does it affect me so?
I feel a potent emptiness in the aftermath,
The disconnect of slumber and waking world
Leaves me shaken, attempting to ground myself,
To seal sleeping spirit into physical body,
Once more.

It is in these moments that I feel out of place,
The darkness of unknown memories calling -
Tempting me to delve into the deep again,
To escape to a place I won't remember,
To find the peace I can't forget.

Have you felt longing like this?  
An aching with no absolute source of satiation,
No known, or guaranteed fulfillment,
Like a puzzle with countless pieces,
And nothing before you fits.
It is evident then, that there is a lack,
Still, you struggle fruitlessly to reassemble the parts.

Along the hours between midnight and dawn,
I drift in this alternative universe,
Sinking into a dimension beyond my own,
Living countless lives in unfathomable time,
Only to return to mine, to mind, to life -  
With nothing but longing, to reminisce about,
And remember them by.