Dream Father

Dream. Father.

A man is found in a hole beneath the sky
The day my granddad, who has been ash for four years,
Burned, heavy lidded eyes, red rimmed.
Present the next one damaged,
Like a bright arrow, piercing the casing of the Earth.
The sky, matte grey and silver, on a puzzle piece.

Above, trees look like nests in winter,
Crisscrossed branches form gridlocks,
That grow denser as they fall.
Spots of leopards, splatter on the grass
And shatter.

Both lay on my old living room stretchers,
Wooden floor and the blood red walls
Groaning in their bandages.
Cracks in their faces have caught dirt,
Between ridges, and their cold, damp
Faces, from sweaty hands.
You may play, this face,
Red through a lens.

Startled and real, I swim through my bed
Shaking with a sudden cold in grey morning.
Cold and wet from the pool,
I succumb and shower,
Scrubbing and wondering,
What has happened.