Tattoo

I used to dream a dream so vivid

that it bled into my waking, freezing me

from hottest sweats, urging me to think

our daily ballyhoo sits atop still black.

That sudden plunge – glissando

up and down my back –

returned each time my brother

re-enacted it, mischief in the heart...

Now I dream other dreams

but I’m branded, lassoed

by objects or a sleepless night

and dragged through nut-brown earth

back under floodlights,
struggling in these massive clothes

my throaty laughter echoing

around me like a ghost’s.

2019 Edit

from hottest sweats, forcing me to see

I dream other dreams now