25 November 2005

No Sleep Tonight


Traveling gypsies live for the nonce at a small house in upstate NY. There are wild animals, and stormy weather surrounding them. I am visiting. There are so many things to do and people to see, once again I lose track of time, and stay too long. I have to rush to a train in a long dark tunnel. I miss my plane because I can't find my ticket.

I have a baby who must be carried, and I worry how to pick and choose what I can take with me. I pack bags full of needless trinkets and toys. There is one puzzle that will set me free from the pursuit of the law. I am running from the law, because of my association with the gypsies. The puzzle is a game that I entice them into playing. I can demonstrate how to solve it but I never win.

There are long hallways and secret shortcuts to attics and basements that do not exist. I share a room with my sister, Mary. She shows me an elaborate way to open the upstairs window properly. It is like a dance. My bed is always moved and rearranged when I get home each night and I re-assemble everything in my room over and over each time I come home to sleep. There is a party below in the back yard. There is a band.

(I wrote all this illegibly in a notebook after waking from fitful sleep and vivid dreams. That post turkey-day double dessert and double espresso, at work.)

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

That photo, not seen in ages. Memories flood my mind in a wave of joy and sorry. paralized as the smile and tear collide. a copy made, pinned on the wall of a wood shack in the middle of Nowhere. a Lone cry echos thru the snow covered mountain tops.
I miss her.
Christmas, no gifts under the tree. family and friends in thoughts only. A note from the eldest, a link opened and the smile of a lost one, not seen for an eternity. memories rush in, the tears flow. A gift not given. but one that wil be cherished forever. Just a photo?
I miss her.
Tim