Lady of Dreams

By: Annice Posted on: April 15, 2010

(This terza rima sonnet may seem hard to follow at first with its 11 syllable

lines and shorter stanzas, but it felt perfect for trying to describe dreams and

their effect on our lives. I hope you enjoy it.)

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I.

Lady of Dreams, listen to my frustration.

Late every night I lie tossing and turning,

With dreams of my own tormented creation.

Silently screaming while my heart is burning,

Turning to ashes; storm-tossed by evening's breeze.

Adrift in tempestuous, midnight churning.

Daily I study the stray thoughts that tease

The edge of my mind, as the early dawn breaks.

The visions at waking that dreaming foresees.

Warm as the Springtime or cold as the snowflakes,

The visions of sleeping haunt body and soul.

Helpless, I wait through the night 'til my mind wakes.

Visions of night spinning out of my control,

Make me feel weary and less than fully whole.

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II.

The night sky casts its blanket o'er Sangre Plains,

Tucking black orchids into their grassy beds.

The buffalo slumber; crickets sing refrains.

Stars twinkle over Petran village sheep sheds.

The Moon walks the mountains, while sunlight abates;

Her raiment hung with dewdrops on twilight threads.

Candles glow from Ashtan to Shallam's strong gates.

The Pachacacha murmurs gossip and lore,

From it's mighty waterfall to Peshwar's straits.

From Eleusis' treetops to Cyrene's door,

Night softly covers all the lands and the sea.

Bringing dreams and sleep to Hashan and Mhaldor.

And we sleep soundly wherever we may be;

At least, we should. My dreams rise up to haunt me.

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III.

I roamed to visit Alp, siren of nightmares.

I asked her help untangling my formless dream;

But found she was not able to soothe my cares.

It takes many parts to make a single theme;

She sent me on to seek Father Dolaron,

The head of the Lady's dreaming guidance team.

We spoke for several hours through the night and on,

Until the light of sun kissed the rock-strewn hills.

A sleeping rabbit floated past and was gone.

And still we talked of mosaics and iron wills;

Of stubbornness, and fighting Her messages.

A dream can only be seen when the mind stills.

For what sign Her nightly vision presages,

Can't be found except in dreaming's vestiges

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IV.

Life is a puzzle, and the Lady its clue.

She brings us hints and riddles to light our way;

Although like rangers we must learn tracking, too.

The sleepy footprints, invisible by day,

Speak nocturnally to many restless souls;

Some of work or sorrow, others, joy and play.

One by one we try to piece them into wholes,

Hoping that a crazy-quilt of sense appears

Pointing the way to nebulous, half-known goals.

It keeps us musing and seeking through the years,

This unseen realm of mysteries, thoughts and schemes;

Awakening in laughter, and sometimes tears.

Our nighttime thoughts rush past in shadowy streams,

Touched by Lady Valnurana, and Her Dreams.