Dream rambling.

Last night I had a dream, vivid and chaotic. One of those dreams that keep you in a constant state of consciousness because of their physicality. Every so often I would feel the tension of muscles, the contracting of skin or the heat radiating from my limbs. It would jog me into some kind of dogged awakening, then I would fall back into it and return interrupted. I had a man by my side.  I was constantly aware of his presence, the gentle brushes against my skin and the rhythms of his breathing.

I dreamt I was a witch, all olive skin and tangles of dark hair. The inside of my mouth was a vivid scarlet, eyes the same green as the leaves of an oak. I scratched my name into the bark of a tree trunk, marked through with a cross and a misshapen heart. The initials of a lover, sealed and delivered like old magic. I heard him whispering my name, the wind carrying it through. I followed the sound of his voice and pad softly with bare feet on thorns and stumps.  My body is much like it is in real life, fluid curves and rippled surfaces, but it feels stronger. It is wrapped in an ancient nightgown, discoloured lace and frayed edges. My lover is a thousand leagues under the sea. His body is dust and sand, sullying the water. His voice now a crackle from a radio, travelling like the gentle beep of sonar through the waves. He speaks in riddles, he talks of spiders, he hides his charms.

I am at the edge of the ocean, I am holding a coin in one hand and a bunch of sweet williams in the other. My lover asks me to join him, I can see his reflection in the surf, amongst the jetsam and dirty foam. The water cold around my ankles, nightgown disintegrating, a swell of small fish upon my calves, they pull me under. I will drown in you, as I have always done with others before you, it will leave me cold and sodden and I will still forgive you love.