A Message from Beyond

A Message from Beyond

I felt a hand, or rather, paw
that pulled me from a happy dream
and then a bite (or was it claw?)
that broke into my fugue state theme
involving Cher and pink whipped cream.

Through bleary eyes, I saw my dog
which touched me deeply and I cried
in digital, not analog,
since she had been my lifelong guide
and I was with her when she died.

“Why are you here?” I finally said
while holding back a frightened scream.
“Are you a ghost now that you’re dead?”
“I’m not a ghost; I’m just a dream,
a phantom of pizza supreme.”

“Now, focus while the air I clear,”
her eyes affixing me like beams.
“You wonder what I’m doing here?
There’s hidden messages in dreams.
Not everything is what it seems.”

“No kidding,” I said through my fog
unsure of where this would lead.
“I’m listen'n to a talking dog.”
“I’m here to tell you what you need
and only then, will you succeed.”

“I think you’ll find that I speak true,
this isn’t revenge for the vet.
To find the answer, here’s the clue:
I go in dry and come out wet;
the longer in, I'm stronger yet!”

She growled before a word was uttered.
“Your instincts are quite cockroach!
I know your mind. It's in the gutter.
I’m only here to be your coach.
Fantasies are the wrong approach.”

With a gasp, I sat up straight
grabbing my chest where I could feel
that my old heart still palpitates.
I vaguely wondered what was real;
her dogged presence I could feel.

I pondered all the things she’d said
as I breathed in the cool night air,
piecing the puzzle in my head.
I kind of wish I stayed with Cher
though it might’ve messed my underwear.

Of all the things that we discussed –
of all the things that she had said,
one message stood out as a must!
Emblazoned in my aching head:
Avoid all pizza before bed!

An entry for "The Humorous Poetry Contest" 
Form: English Quintain ~ is a popular form of Quintain having no set measure or foot and has a rhyming scheme of; a. b. a. b. b.
Line Count: 50

By the way, the answer to the riddle is "a stick of gum."