FriendBurst Blog

WITHIN THE IN-BETWEEN

BY BARBARA K

A CHERYL’S PALS COLLAB

I heard the words as they danced through my head

in that in between time between asleep and awake,

or so it seemed, for I really couldn’t say

where I was or what time of day.

Having lost all direction and all sense of time

and finding my thoughts and myself

in a completely lost state of mind,

the words were so clear,

I couldn’t mistake them as they rang out to me:

“Wake up,” they cried,” this is not a dream;

it’s not all in your head or what it might seem.”

I know for a fact that’s exactly what they said.

And as I opened my eyes (or that’s what I thought)

I could clearly see what had happened (or not).

But when the screaming started,

I turned and fled,

ducking under the blankets

and covering up my head.

And then when all the noise had died down,

I peeked out to see exactly what I could see,

which, unfortunately for me,

wasn’t quite enough as I listened intently

for the sound I did dread

and picked up a spade from the garden outside,

my only self-defense as I listened and prayed,

the thump of heavy boots headed my way,

as lying so still and listening to what the voice said,

not knowing at all what might lie ahead

my now hazy thoughts completely undefined.

And the haze was so thick and swirling about

my feet with each hesitant step that I took,

clutching the spade and trying to recall

the words I had heard through the darkness

and knowing that there was still so very much

that I wanted to do, so much to achieve.

So preoccupied I was with all of this,

the words and the haze and the dark and the fear,

I almost didn’t hear the words again,

but with the morning’s first light,

heard the whispers calling to me:

“Things are not the way they seem;

wake up now — this is only a dream,”

contradicting what I had heard before

in a most unusual way.

Nevertheless, I was so very relieved

and looked forward to the day,

glad to recall what was then but unseen

and just a bad dream after all.

(c) barbara kausteklis 7-9-11

Thanks for your Collab lines: Lady “Cheryl” Death,

James, Marthamagenta, Angel Love, Mikey, Diane,

Rebel, and Me, Barbara.

Link to “The Saturday Share” and all the Collabs posted:

 http://www.friendburst.com/blog/50295/cheryls-pals-saturday-share-one-6/

The lines I used in addition to my own:

Wake up, this is not a dream (Lady “Cheryl” Death) — REQUIRED

Things are not the way they seem (Lady “Cheryl” Death)
And we recall what was then unseen (James)
Not waking nor sleep but in between (marthamagenta)
There is much in life I must achieve (Angel Love)
My hazy thoughts are undefined (marthamagenta)
When the screaming started, I turned and fled (Mikey)
I was still as I listened and prayed (Diane)
For self defense I picked up a spade (marthamagenta)
And listened intently for the sound i did dread (Angel Love)
I heard the thump of heavy boots tread (marthamagenta)
Lying still listening to what the voice said (Rebel)
Not knowing and not caring what lies ahead (Mikey)
 

And thanks always for your visits and comments. 

~barb~