I dreamt
& in this dream,
I was happy.

Rivers flowed,
& the magnetic
poles of the earth
were not switching

Things were calm.

I should have known
a storm was afoot.

I dreamt
& in this dream,
you appeared.

Pinching me
at the waist
as you always did.

With those shining white
American teeth.
& those laughing eyes
Laughing, smoking, complaining.

Come back to me
Come back to me


You made me want to swim upstream
despite having already smoothed over
one hundred thousand river rocks.

I dreamt
& in this dream
we were happy.

It was but a dream, I know