“I have spread my dreams at your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams”

- Yeats

We are our dreams

Why am on the floor
Why have I stayed amongst the dust
Particulates of dreams and wants
Crushed by lover’s step too heavy
Hoping burden didn’t weigh down their soul
An apology doesn’t remove sneaker tread.

I found my legs and rose
Button up to the top with a sweater over top.
Proud to be me.
Found the parts of self
Polished off shoe print and spoke love to myself
Placed myself in my breast pocket.
Expected to remain, warmed by heart and sweater

I had walked a time and saw you floating there.
We walked without words and you asked who I was.
I felt a jump in my breast pocket and fished out myself.
I hesitated with eyes fixed on the dust
A past life hit play and flashed across my eyes
Legs and lungs pinned down
Voice cut off halfway by a heeled boot.

Your fingers peel my hand open and pick one up.
Fingers long and wiry, with a pressure-less touch.
A smile spread across your face as you looked at them one at a time.
You said it was nice to meet me as you placed the last one back into my hand

I place myself back into my breast pocket. And we keep walking.

— —

This one started with remembering Yeat’s poem quoted above, and then sort of wrote itself, so there isn’t going to be much of a process here.

I believe that we learn about life from the art that we consume, and I wondered why I would put my dreams at someone’s feet? I understand the imagery, but still, that implies that the person whose feet you are bowing to has some place on an imaginary pedestal. So I took that idea and wondered if I was going to place my dreams somewhere, where would I put them?
I enjoy wearing sweaters over collared shirts so, the idea of the breast pocket came up.
We are who we dream ourselves to be. Whether or not you believe in a rigid sense of self, we all need to take care of ourselves, not rely on others for self-fulfillment. And the person that we decide to share ourselves with should be encouraging, gentle with those most fragile parts of us.