A Dream

late evening, yesterday, suddenly
while walking the open road
a long-separated dream bumped into me


he smiled and embraced me
then asked:
"how are you?
where were you all these days?
tell me of all your means and ways
for so many years without me."


i kept staring at his face
kept peering into my past -
perhaps i could find a trace
of where i had seen him last


"he smiled again
this time with moist eyes
and said:
"no, you did not recognise me
you have forgotten, you do not recall
perhaps you have become lost
in the frantic, frenetic pace of it all."


truth: i had forgotten
but, there was some remembrance, too
like the fragments of an old song
that continue to haunt you


"it is all right, it does not matter
i have grown accustomed to it


"people often forget,
in just this way
in the hurly-burly of survival
they flow away
slaughter all their dreams
and yet alive themselves stay."


i was ashamed;
my face burned red
was i alive?
or was me dead?


"he placed his hand on my shoulder
very lightly, very gentlly
and said:
so what if you have forgotten me?
i have not forsaken you


"i still remember everything:
those promises, those pledges,
those pure principles,
those intentions with no rough edges


"come, take my hand once again
come, walk with me once again


"let us walk together
towards the brilliant dawn that does hide
just beyond the horizon's shores
come, let us, you and i, leave aside
this pointless craving, these mindless chores


"come, my friend
trust in your dream
what did you bring into this world?
for fear of losing which
so timid you seem?


"come, take my hand once more
come, walk with me once more."