‘the sun is high, just shy of noon

I stand in this warmth – confused

beneath my feet, a once familiar place

is but dust and gravel.

‘All around me are the hues

of desolation, textures long buried

fray the landscape of brown and gold.

I pan the horizon, shattered

gray green tuffs plot an

unseen venue, familiar but broken.

‘From behind me a man speaks,

Only one word he utters “Look”

the sound of the syllable barren

I am compelled, commanded!

‘Stretching his arm, the owner

points to a glimmer of light.

Upon the horizons edge. It is small

and hard to see anything other than

the gritty landscape.

‘This glimmer of light, nothing

more than a reflection draws my focus.

I see it now, small but growing

against the bleakness of this

foreign landscape.

‘As it draws closer, I can not see

how it moves over such a barren

landscape. Yet is moving, closer

and now I recognize it to be a

cruise ship.

‘But how can this be, gliding over

land like it was on water?

The movement causes ripples

where the two meet!

This is not so! A ship cannot ride land

like water! And Yet

‘ the gritty uneven land did bob and weave

not unlike the ripples of a pond

The ship drew nearer and it was

a gleaming spectacle

in these hues of destruction.

‘My perplexity deepened upon

inspection of passing rows upon rows

decks and windows sealed and void.

This spectacle of white appeared lifeless

as it moved forward to an untold destination.

“Look” I turn to my left and there is blue

where there was none before. Long

jetties skimmed the surface

revealing familiar blue hues of water.

The hulk of white slipped into this cleared port

the jetties clicked to a closed

position keeping the gritty sludge at bay.

‘Once docked a bay door

pressed down to the parched earth.

A single automobile disembarked

and sped along a dusty path

to some unseen destination.

‘It was then that I awoke, my

breath shallow and my heart pumping,

I looked to my familiar bedroom, clamed by

the breaths of my partner beside me.

I slept once more and yet this dream

haunts me in its entirety.

By Cathryn E Tremain July 2012 – Dream Jan 2011