September 15, 2005

To swing on a star

Yesterday, some of my students were telling me about a controlled experiment in which people were tested to determine whether or not eating different types of cheese influenced their dreams. I have no idea where my students were getting their information from, but I loved the concept.

What if you could choose your dreams simply by choosing your bedtime snack?

A bowl of milk, perhaps, if you want the kind of contented dreams that cats seem to have when they are curled on a window sill in the sun.

Pomegranate seeds if you want to carry out that fantasy about illicit sex with the glamorous badboy type.

Watermelon for dreams of sunny days on a wide front porch with your grandmother, still alive, sitting on the porch swing and telling you stories about her childhood.

Peaches, ripe and sliced, for dreams about that nice guy, the one with the great hands and expressive eyes, the man who makes it safe for you to love.

Tea brewed from pine needles for a night of envisioning the countries of this world making peace with each other.

Wild strawberries, dripping with juice, for dreams of outdoor sex, arms and legs tangled in meadow grasses.

Honey for dreams of a safe place, a sanctuary, a retreat, a monastery, a garden that you can keep within yourself.

Dark chocolate for a dream in which the brother who did not talk to you for eight years gives you a hug and says he is sorry.

Perhaps ripe blackberries for dreams in which you put on a pair of scarlet-feathered wings, leap from a bluff, and fly.

21 comments:

Rob Helpy-Chalk said...

The nice thing is that these ingrediants combine well. Tea with honey for an inner peace that spreads over the world. Fruit salad with wild strawberries, pomegranate seeds, and peaches for outdoor sex with the bad boy who makes you--and only you--feel safe to love. (Is there a female version? Do the fruits always combine into one hybrid lover?)

Honestly, if I could do that, I would never wake up.

ccw said...

What a nice thought! Going to sleep would be so much fun if you could control the subject matter of your dreams.

halloweenlover said...

Jo(e) what is this outdoor sex in wild meadow grasses of which you speak? Are you holding out on us?

Hrumph.

I need to go camping more often. I've never even been skinny dipping. I'm so deprived.

Phantom Scribbler said...

Pine-needle tea? I think that would give me dreams of nausea...

Liz Miller said...

What a fantastic post.

Mary Stebbins Taitt said...

Beautiful, utterly beautiful, jo(e)! I hope this is a future poem! It deserves to be!! XOX Mary

Mary Stebbins Taitt said...

By the way, the song that Graham sang for the summer select choir duet was, "Would you like to swing on a star!" (We bought him a new used piano yesterday).

I liek your selections, but I think mine might be a little different. LOL! I love how personal dream connections are. Great story! :-)

Anonymous said...

I love your blog. Just love it.

Libby said...

That's gorgeous.

Running2Ks said...

That is so incredible. You always blow me away. Now, I need pomegranates, strawberries and (completely unrelated) chocolate.

What Now? said...

It all reminds me of A Christmas Carol, especially the bit about the cheese.

Jennifer (ponderosa) said...

Once on a cruise ship I had a massage that was better than sleep. I was relaxed for *days*. Your dreams remind me of that.

luckybuzz said...

Absolutely gorgeous. Dark chocolate made me tear up. But I'm okay now, as I'm on a quest for ripe blackberries.

Suzanne said...

Wishing you a dark chocolate dream come true.

jo(e) said...

Suzanne: That is such a nice thing to say. Thanks!

Julie said...

What a beautiful poem.

Bad Alice said...

This is beautiful. Thank you for so many evocative images. Yes, this is a wonderful poem that is nourishing to the soul.

Anonymous said...

What a lovely idea....

Yankee, Transferred said...

quintessential jo(e). Just lovely.

SuzanH said...

I love this idea. I hope it's true.

jo(e) said...

Thanks for the link, Kyra. That must be where my students got it from.