I dreamed of houses

photo by lauren RUSHING

I dreamed of houses.

Houses we forgot we owned
so the grass grew up tall,
turned prickly and brown.

Abandoned houses.
Rundown,
peeling paint,
walls that fell away at a light touch.

And, one time,
missing a roof.

Oh, we said, looking up,
the sky winking back
through rafters and eaves.

I think we were meant to move into them,
start new lives.

But wandering through those dream-rooms,
some conscious neuron fired,
and the realization slowly bloomed:

Wait,
we already have a house,
a cozy life.
How did we get here?
What now?

Then the waking,
the feeling of matters unsettled,
realities that never would be.

What did you dream while you were pregnant with you baby(ies)? What did you dream after your loss(es)? Do you believe dreams can be prophetic?