IN THE DARKNESS OF DREAMS

As I lie here in the darkness

counting each of your small

puffs of breath,

the image of my dream is still

before me, the woman

I recognize across a room

from thirty years before,

a widow now. We were not

friends; her husband was a jerk,

but you said we should invite

her to stay for supper. You were

always willing to share,

but I always wanted you

all to myself, which is why

I count your puff breaths

in the darkness of dreams.

John Robert McFarland

“Who cared if there was really any Being to pray to? What mattered was the sense of giving thanks and praise, the feeling of a humble and grateful heart.” Oliver Sacks