dream

four friends leave dinner late saturday night
full and satisfied with the food and company

the night is slow, unusually hot for june.
half way home, on the moonlit drive,
under canopy of trees
the question is asked...

"what would do you desire to do with your life...
other than what you are doing now?"

a round robin begins...
and the answers flow easily:

a major league baseball player
a professional race card driver
a designer of fine resorts and destinations
a writer, a novelist, a poet - an artist
a stay-at-home-mom
a stay-at-home-dad
a canadian wilderness guide
a back-up singer for elvis costello
a back-up singer for anybody

there is a sudden lightness
and the dreams that fill the car
lift the heavy summer air

and then silence for the next six blocks
each friend quietly lists the things
that will keep each dream from happening:

businesses and employees...
promises to spouses...
that mortgage...
that second mortgage...
that college tuition...
parents to care for,
pets to care for...
health insurance and salaries and
sons and daughters...

and that fear in the pit of your stomach
when you try to fall asleep.