That first line is so powerful, Nick, the way it grabs you. And the sounds you carry throughout convey the harshness of the dreaming, the unrest, ending with that final line of begging for dreamless sleep. Great poem.
Love the use of poetry for dream explorations. it’s my opinion that dreams are when our left- and right-brained selves finally talk to one another through sense and memory. That’s why I think it can be a detriment to a dream to just simply relate the events like we might a police report. We lose so much that way. Your exploration with poetry helped retain a lot of vibrancy and meaning.
Reading this felt like entering a fever dream. Your attention to sound and sense are equally strong. I suffered a horrible earache last summer and burst my eardrum, so I feel your pain. Everything sounded strange as it healed, like the wind had ripped holes through all the words. Come to think of it, I haven't written a poem about that experience yet. Thank you for your poem and the explanation reflecting on the article by Kostas.
Thank you Abigail! I have actually also burst my other eardrum about 10 years ago and have hearing loss in that ear so I relate to your description! I’m working on a poem about that too, so if you post one let me know I’d love to read it.
That first line is so powerful, Nick, the way it grabs you. And the sounds you carry throughout convey the harshness of the dreaming, the unrest, ending with that final line of begging for dreamless sleep. Great poem.
Enjoyed the dense style and imagery!
Thank you! I was inspired by Geoffrey Hill's Picture of a Nativity - the density, tightness, and changing rhymes.
Love the use of poetry for dream explorations. it’s my opinion that dreams are when our left- and right-brained selves finally talk to one another through sense and memory. That’s why I think it can be a detriment to a dream to just simply relate the events like we might a police report. We lose so much that way. Your exploration with poetry helped retain a lot of vibrancy and meaning.
Yes, between this one and the post from a couple weeks ago I’ve tried to capture the strangeness of those dreams. I’m glad this felt vibrant to you.
“Psychotidal zone of brackish dreams”
I really like that.
Well done.
Reading this felt like entering a fever dream. Your attention to sound and sense are equally strong. I suffered a horrible earache last summer and burst my eardrum, so I feel your pain. Everything sounded strange as it healed, like the wind had ripped holes through all the words. Come to think of it, I haven't written a poem about that experience yet. Thank you for your poem and the explanation reflecting on the article by Kostas.
Thank you Abigail! I have actually also burst my other eardrum about 10 years ago and have hearing loss in that ear so I relate to your description! I’m working on a poem about that too, so if you post one let me know I’d love to read it.
The sensory details are so strong I had to plug my ears for fear of senses losing control. Great words, Nick! Why “dreamless sleep”, though?
Thank you Phil!
at the risk of over-explaining, the poet wants dreamless sleep so he can escape the discomfort of having to acknowledge his dreams/fantasies.