To Dream a Lover Away


Let your dream carry him
away, and by that very
dreaming, put him
at arm's length where you may
examine at leisure
his exact shadowy shape,
maybe even come to terms
with his voice, its narcotic
ways and by-the-ways.

How dream you, Sweetness?
you might ask of him
as you dream right past
his swift, disarming glance,
moving on to explore
those ample lips,
his oh so heavy eyelids
half lowered—seeing all this
with your decidedly
undreamy, dreaming eyes.

Take him all in. Take his own
sweet time. Keep in mind
this dreaming lets you
linger on what's bound to be
too close, too wide
for the focus of your
open eyes. So linger along.
Have your way with him,
your own easy-does-it take
on what's waiting in
the wild awake.


                  —Paulann Petersen

Poetry Northwest, Vol XLI, No 4
The Wild Awake, Confluence Press, 2002

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