Tom's quick in his dreams, and busy
is a word he strikes like fire.
He rides a bike down miles of elms
and up hills of gardens,
pedals with the wind at his back.
In his dreams he has things : a white fenced yard,
a dozen friends, a new red Olds Eighty-eight
he polishes on weekends. He's known
in the parish as one who gets things done.
People depend on him. His beautiful wife,
Clair, cares and understands him
and firmly backs his prudent judgments.
He suspects she's pregnant. Late
at night he reads Chandler,
doesn't watch much t.v. After eleven
he moves with Clair into the bedroom.
The walls float. When he wakens
the sky unfolds. Odd faces walk past terrified.
Then it's another fight
with the cold embrace of daylight. The endless sidewalk.
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