In my last dream before waking
I meet a version of myself
from an alternate universe.
We greet each other cautiously.
There’s a slight class difference:
while I flipped burgers at the diner
my alter-ego went to graduate school
& now teaches cultural studies
at the university. He takes me back
to his apartment, which he shares
with two housemates & a dozen cats.
I watch in wonder as
he gives a good-night kiss
to a woman black as coffee.
I gave up poetry years ago, he says.
He asks what I’ve done
to make my beard turn white.
Purveyors of fine poetry since 2003.
“I gave up poetry years ago, he says.” Ouch. That’s where he went wrong, all the other goodies notwithstanding.
I often can feel the other timelines as if they are still only a choice away. They probably are happening in a parallel universe, making occupying the same space and time, just a different choice coordinate.
You can? Interesting. I think this was the first time I’ve this kind of dream.
Oh yes, I think it’s the curse of the introverts.