I mentioned a long time ago that my subconscious seems to have quite the imagination. I also like writing those dreams down. I’d shared this rhyme a few years ago as a flash talk with my coworkers…
WHUT(?!) Dreams May Come
As a kid I was asked
what I’d like to become.
“Dr. Seuss!” was my answer.
“Those stories are fun!”
“Oh the places I’d go
and the sights I would see!”
But that wild dream
was not meant to be.
“So? We’ll dream some new dreams!”
said my brain, “But for fun.
“Nonsense at Night! Or
WHUT(?!) dreams may come.”
Before, I would dream
of loose teeth and foul weather,
but since then my dreams
have become strangely better.
Or at least they are strange,
growing stranger with time.
Here are four crazy tales
of such dreams — in rhyme:
The first was a fight
for a great holiday
when folks could get
together to play…
they could cook at the grill,
OR tend to their yard,
OR visit old friends,
OR even work hard
on projects that otherwise
would take too much time…
but businesses fought it
to save a few dimes.
So my friends and I fought
the bureaucracy’s grip
with stacks of red tape
and polls, votes, and trips.
Then at last we succeeded!
Our holiday’s saved!
Then it’s name was revealed:
“Anöther Day.”
In this next dream, I sang
an unscheduled solo:
the last singer had quit halfway through.
YOLO!
My accompanist mother
to continue the show,
said, Veld!
Second ending from 52 … Go!
And so I sight read!
but I should have said no.
The tune was okay-ish,
the lyrics? Not so.
These lyrics were BAD.
Almost not safe for work.
The audience cried.
And I laughed like a jerk.
Next dream: Boxes!
As Seen on TV!
They looked like a hoop
and were invented by me
But instead of a hoop
or a box, they were more
like a TARDIS or wormhole
or dimensional door
You could fit ANYTHING
in these “boxes” you see,
in a space beyond time
and earth’s gravity.
A hot dinner stored now
would be still hot next week…
or next year, for that matter
with this boxing technique!
At first, most folks used them
for storing their stuff:
they’re so great for moving!
They’re light, and they’re tough!
But this dream got weird
when folks started playing
the jingle at funerals
… know what I’m saying? 
Last story for now:
my brother it seemed,
had died without living
his own life long dream.
But his wife MaryBeth
would not let it go:
“Rick can ‘live’ that dream now!
Let us all make it so!”
In his dream in my dream,
through the Alps he would fly
in his marching band hat
playing songs to the sky.
So we put poor dead Rick
in a hot air balloon,
with his hat and trombone,
and said, “Come back down soon!”
He did, and we’d just said
goodbye to the Swiss
when he came back to life
and cried, “What did I miss?”
There. Four dreams in four minutes
Weird? Funny? Gory?
I’ll keep looking forward
to each night’s new story.
I’m not Dr. Seuss,
but my mind keeps his mission,*
as you’ll see from this quote
(there’s no rhyming rendition…)
“I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living, it’s a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope. Which is what I do, and that enables you to laugh at life’s realities.”
Dr. Seuss
And that was the end of my flash talk. Maybe one of these days I’ll add illustrations too. Or maybe I’ll write about my other dreams. They are legion.
If you feel like reading another Seuss style rhyme, I did that here. And if you feel like hearing more dreams, or sharing your own for that matter, let’s make it happen.
* Also I’ve realized since then Seuss, like many famous people (or people in general), could be quite a jerk. Let us all try to do better.
Legend of Velda 