I Fell Asleep, Part 2 - The Jazz Song

I fell asleep one night and had a dream -
I’m alone on a beach, and the moon was casting a soft glow
On the gentle waves on the beach.

I started listening to a jazz song –
I didn’t know who it was written by,
Or what the name of the song was,
But I decided that it sounded relaxing,
And by then the sax solo had begun.

I wasn’t sure of where I was,
But it wasn’t the same beach anymore,
Because I saw (heard) a sailboat that wasn’t there before.
It was moving slowly, guided by the sun,
And whichever way the wind was blowing.
It struggled over waves, spun in three circles,
And it was then I noticed that no one was on the boat.
So I swam out to it and climbed up on the boat,
Letting the wind blow at my back,
Sailing slowly and effortlessly,
Peacefully and quietly,
Letting the warm sun soak into my skin,
Until I noticed that the beach had become a river bank,
And the dunes had become some skyscrapers,
And by then the trumpet solo had begun.

I left the ferry and wandered around the city.
The streets and buildings were overshadowing,
And seemed overpowering as they hid the sun.
Everything seemed grey and heartless,
Except for the occasional flower or tree.
I felt (heard) the sadness and anger on the streets,
And soon I noticed the flashing lights of police cars,
But there weren’t cars I had seen recently.
And then the past rushed from the back of my mind to the front,
And I ran inside a store and grabbed a newspaper.
It was dated November 5, 1981.
And then all was quiet – and as I looked up from the paper,
I was no longer in the store,
But instead was standing next to a park bench
And by then the bass solo had begun.


I started walking a long a sidewalk,
And it curved towards a small zoo.
I went into the zoo and wandered around,
And saw (heard) the caged animals pacing back and forth,
Looking for a way out, or at least bored,
But content with their lifestyle.
Everyone was pointing and whispering at the animals,
But I had seen all this before so I left the zoo,
And I couldn’t find the sidewalk before,
And by then the drum solo had begin.
I was now in a deep dark woods,
On a muddy and curvy mountain path.
Branches were falling and trees were crashing,
And I felt lightning strike right behind me,
As if I was being tapped on the shoulder.
I smelled (heard) a tree catch fire and I ran,
Faster and faster until I slipped in a mud puddle
And fell, and slid down a hill, and off a cliff,
And I landed with a big splash and when I surfaced...

...I was awake, sitting in the ocean
I was on the first beach again and the tide had risen. 
The song had ended, it was morning,
And the sun was casting a soft glow
On the gentle waves of the beach...

I Fell Asleep, Part 1 - The Alarm Clock (Of Reality)

I fell asleep one night and had a dream
I am alone, somewhere yet nowhere,
And I can’t quite figure out exactly where I am

In my dream the sun is bright and shining
There is a pond and some hills
Some birds and a couple farms
Yet I am far away from all that
I am sitting on a bench
People walk by
Their briefcases flash before me
No one stops to say hi
Or even glance toward me
Except for some pigeons
Who just kinda stand there staring at me
I feed them what all the bread I have left
Which is what they were really hoping for
But thunder strikes
And they all fly away
To the Christmas tree across the river
The waves pound against the shore
And the sand gets pulled in...
Pulled out...
Pulled in to the circle of the sunlight
In the eye of the storm
Snowflakes begin to fall
And everything is covered in a blanket of white
What were once sticks and stones
And grass and bones and leaves
Are all white
White as the clouds passing by
Making shapes of castles and dragons
And unicorns and my plane begins
To fly above the clouds
To a land never dreamed possible...

But this is a dream and it is possible
Or at least it was
Until the alarm clock (of reality) goes off – 8:09AM
Do I hit the snooze button or not?
Click.

Aaaaah – 9 more minutes
To continue my flight above the clouds
But the plane is gone
Now I am in another nowhere
In a movie theater
A drive-in theater
And I am the star
Up in the sky
Blinking and winking
And thinking and wishing
Pulling the bucket out of the well
Dropping a penny
And picking up one from the ground
Heads up on a sidewalk
Don’t step on a crack...
Step...
Step...
Step...
Ring the doorbell...

Ooops – that’s the alarm clock (of reality) again – 8:18AM
One more time?
Click.

Now I am on a highway to yet another nowhere
It is night and I am alone
Drumming on the steering wheel
The clock says 2:15AM...
No, 8:19AM...
No, it’s 2:15AM
And the lights if the city have finally
Appeared on the horizon
I stop behind a stalled car on the shoulder
There’s a full moon out
The man inside is smiling
As he’s sitting on a park bench
With a bottle and a pipe
Smoke...
A campfire...
No, a bonfire
And a group of people are sitting around it
One someone gets up and walks away solemnly
But unnoticed by the other someones
They’re telling ghost stories
And I feel myself floating upwards
I look at my right hand
I can see right through it
It’s nearly invisible
I’m unsure of myself and what I am
And as I look back
Everything behind us is invisible
Gone...
Disappeared...
Quiet...
So I moan
Little kids scream and run away
Big kids laugh loudly but nervously quietly
It is Halloween, right??
But now I’ve scared myself
Until I hear sleigh bells...

No, it’s that damn alarm clock (of reality) again – 8:27AM
No thought needed this time...
Click.

It doesn’t work!
Click...
Click click...
Click click click click SLAM!
The snooze alarm is finally broken
So I turn the alarm off
Climb out of bed and plant my foot on the...
On the...
Falling...
Falling into a different nowhere
Where did the floor go?
Falling endlessly
Flapping wings that I don’t even have
Hoping for a miracle
Grabbing for something but holding onto thin air
Until I find a tree branch
And some ornaments fall off
And a church bell rings in the distance...

And I FINALLY figure out which where I am at...

And I am awake (in reality)
And I get up
And I begin another day...
...another trip until I fall asleep again...

Time (As Yet Untitled)

1:12 AM – Time?
Has neither a beginning nor an end
Yet gives you both a beginning and an end
Creeps slowly when you want to hurry
Hurries quickly when you want to creep
Gives away what you want to hold on to
Holds on to what you want to give away
1:13AM – tick tick tick
Not wanting to hear about itself
Nor about what it does
Always – almost – it has no always nor a never
Passes from a hard-stone past to a cloud-and-fog future
Yet the past can be cloudy and the future stone also
Expect the unexpected
1:14AM – tick tick tick – Time?