The Corners of My Dreams

(a sestina for my poetry class)

I dream about you every night.
You’re not always the center of my dreams,
But you’re always somewhere, in a corner,
Looking on with a mischievous smile,
And holding my heart
In your pocket for safe-keeping.

On Monday night I dreamed
I was at that bakery on the corner
But you were the baker, with funny hat and wide smile.
You handed me a freshly-baked heart-
Shaped cookie, and I gave you a five and said keep
The change. I left the shop, and it was suddenly night.

On Tuesday you were standing on the corner
As I passed by you in the current of the smiling
Crowd, I felt a shiver in my heart.
I glanced your way and caught your eye but kept
Swimming with the crowd. And the stars that night
Sprinkled their light on the two of us dreamers.

On Thursday morning I woke with a smile
And felt my hammering heart.
I tried to fall back to sleep so I could keep
Dreaming of you like I had through the night.
I couldn’t fall back into the dream,
But I sighed when I saw your boots in the corner.

When your ship is at sea and my heart
Is longing for the rasp of your voice, I keep
Your love in my jewelry box and open it at night
And out pours the music of our dreams
For the future, and it fills the corners
Of the lonely room, and I remember how to smile.

Last night as I was sleeping, I kept
Waking, thinking I heard your breathing in the night
Air, but then I remembered that it is only in my dreams
That I will feel the soft breath from the corners
Of your soft sleeping smile
Until you return and breathe some life back into my heart.

I think that when I dream of you, it’s my heart’s
Way of smiling and telling me to keep
You. And I can’t wait to fall asleep in my bed in my corner.