Tell me about that dream, where we
Touch the smooth panel of liquid sand
How it ripples through time and space
Tearing a hole into the fabric of reality
Where we wove our fingers together as
We clutched the one solid thing we had
Where we jumped inside the Unknown
Lured by a promise of something better
We awaken inside our dream, like some
Sort of haphazard attempt at Inception
My eyes searched but couldn’t find you
In the darkness, I felt a familiar comfort
A rhythm echoed through hollow wood
From eager knuckles then a hand held
In silence, in motion, it destroys the line
That protected me from what was there
Light permeated shadow, and a figure
Lingered by the threshold of the door
Shadows show an outline of a man and
His hand reached out to help me stand
I take it and I realize I’m in a fluffy gown
Shades of pink up to my flushed cheeks
He calls me princess and tells me he’s
Here, to save me! But I don’t know him
But he seems nice. He seems kind. And
He shows me this giant, metallic sword:
A bit of blood on the side, with a glint
Of victory. Against a dragon, he tells me
I ask how he found me in this tower and
I ask how he defeated the dragon and
I ask if the dragon breathed fire like in
The fairytales I hear before I fall asleep
He killed the dragon as it slumbered so
There was no battle, and I felt cheated
Like he didn’t really save me for
There were no bruises, no scars to show
But I’m nice. I’m kind. I let him lead me
Into the outside, where there is a dead
Dragon by the door who feels familiar
But we step over the corpse and depart
We ride a horse and I cling for dear life
I expected warmth but his body is cold
I say nothing but he continues to talk
We reach what’s supposedly my home
I sleep and I dream that I’m in a tower
It’s dark and I open the door before the
Knock, but I see the man kill the dragon
So I cradle the dying dragon in my arms
He tells me that he’s here, to save me!
But he doesn’t understand my sadness
He embraces me to soothe, comfort me
I expected warmth but his body is cold
He brings me back to the castle where I
Dream that I’m back in the tower again
I open the door before the knock, and
Before the man gets to kill the dragon
I hesitantly wake the dragon and ask for
Its name: it tells me, and it’s the same as
Your name. I gasp and am about to say
My name, but I hear footfall. Then, I see:
The man who’s here, to save me! Again!
I’m trapped in a cycle of being saved
And I’m tired of people thinking I’m a
Princess. I scream and the dragon roars
He runs away but drops his giant sword
I hold it and it glows and suddenly I’m
Awake and you’re no longer a dragon
And I’m no longer a princess in a gown
I look up and the moon shows herself
Taking the spotlight in the evening sky
There is a peacefulness that resembles
A calm before the mighty typhoon rages
We are inside a car and you are driving.
Your hands are on the steering wheel
And your knuckles, a ghostly white hue
You tell me we’re headed somewhere
You never tell me where, but I trust you
Because your hands are on the wheel
And I never learned how to drive a car
Without crashing into a wall somewhere
The road seemingly never ends, as it
Stretches into the very horizon, but the
Scenery stays the same. We talk until
We run out of topics and out of breath
I check the time; it’s exactly midnight.
I look away for a bit; it’s still midnight.
I count sixty seconds; it’s still midnight.
Impatience now thrown out the window
I’m about to ask “Where are we going”
But you slammed down the brakes and
I watched you fly off your seat and crash
Into the windshield, and glass shattered
Into a million deadly fragments which
Pierced almost every part of me, except
It forgot to lodge itself inside my heart
At least you’re afforded a swift demise
A siren could be heard from a distance
A click as I’m unstrapped from my seat
My nearly lifeless body dragged out by
A man! Who’s come here! To save me!
You’ll always be the dead dragon while
I’ll always be the princess saved by men
I’m left again with blood and a corpse
But at least I’m still left with something
