Poetry Insert, 2023

DREAMS OF REALITY

There were lucid colours and drifting smoke surrounding a strange visual space when she appeared and walked towards me. A bird flew past — an eagle or a raven — though I couldn’t see it clearly through the haze. The woman looked at me with piercing blue eyes, eyes some would call primitive, ancient, untouched by modern time itself. Smoke wandered through the clouds while everything stood still around her.

I tried to see her face. Then the clouds warmed and a green light shone from above like some cosmic awakening. I felt a heartbeat echo with the sound of tribal drums somewhere deep within the mountains. I searched for her again, changed direction, walked naked into a clear stream, and disappeared beneath a waterfall. Thunder shattered the sky, lightning cracked through the darkness, and suddenly everything vanished except blackness and violent flashes of white light.

I breathed heavily through the void.

Bang!

I woke alone in bed drenched in sweat. Where had she gone? Was this reality, or was I still sleeping?

My hand slid toward my groin as thoughts of the girl from my dreams flooded my mind. A morning stiffy, as they call it, had risen with the sun. Birds chirped outside the window. Did they know? Who was she? Where was she? A dream or reality — like a surreal bee searching for pollen amongst invisible flowers.

Water burst from the showerhead, and my naked body absorbed every drop. Steam climbed the walls while thoughts of her became impossible to escape. Was she part of the dream, or had the dream followed me into reality? The question conflicted me as I imagined her eyes, her skin, the silhouette of her body beneath moonlight and rain.

I turned the shower hotter.

With every drop I could visualise her more clearly — the curve of her breast, the softness of her lips, the hypnotic movement of her body as she walked toward me through smoke and mist. The room became thick with steam as I closed my eyes and saw her once again.

Then thunder rolled outside. My heartbeat answered it and connected to the rhythms of the world.

A strange sexual energy rose within me, primal and electric. Thunder sounded again, vibrating through the walls, through the floor, through my body itself. The sensation almost made me slip as desire pulsed through me like lightning searching for ground.

How was this possible? Was this another dream?

I couldn’t concentrate. Distracted by my thoughts, I turned the shower off and listened to the rain outside. The dream still lingered inside me like smoke trapped within my lungs.

Who was she? The mystery woman of my dreams.

I tried to work, but all I could think about was her. A desire to kiss her, taste her skin, lose myself with her until the night cracked open into dawn. Horny, frisky, lustful thoughts flooded my mind like Shakespeare intoxicated on moonlight wind and madness. Blood rushed toward my groin and I became erect once more.

What do they call this? A late-morning stiffy? Desire finding its way home? Where is the home?

I tried to let the feeling pass, but I could only think about those eyes. My imagination drifted again, and suddenly I was naked beside her beneath that waterfall, making love in nature like something ancient and untouched by civilisation. Water rushed over our bodies while thunder echoed across the mountains. Was this the birds and the bees, or something far older than that?

Then I woke again in my bed, sweating, my penis hard against the sheets.

I didn’t know whether I was dreaming or awake anymore.

Where am I? I thought that was real or was this another dream?

All I knew was that desire burned inside me like wildfire. Who was she? The muse my body and soul both craved.

I started thinking that dreams and reality might be the same thing. A psychic collision. A doorway between worlds. But where was she?

I ran through the streets until I reached a lake surrounded by dark grey clouds. Wind rippled across the water while distant thunder rolled through the sky. Lightning snapped overhead and birds exploded from nearby trees.

One bird swept close past me. Was it the eagle or raven from my dream?

Its eyes locked onto mine for a brief second and I felt myself disappear inside the moment. Was this real, or simply another layer of dreaming? The bird vanished into the storm, and then I heard my name being called.

I turned toward the lake. Through the pale light, a woman walked slowly toward me.

I couldn’t quite see her face.

“Did you see that bird?” she asked softly.

“Yes,” I replied. “Who are you?”

“My name’s Alice.”

Her eyes were hypnotic, wild like a fox beneath moonlight — sensual, profound, carrying stories older than language itself. Desire ignited instantly within me.

She reached out her hand to greet me. The touch felt strangely intimate, as though our skin had already met somewhere beyond memory. I tried to stay composed. I don’t usually stumble over words. But there was something about Alice — her body, her smile, her energy — that dissolved my thoughts completely.

She told me she had seen the same bird the night before. It had to be her. The woman from my dreams. Had to be.

I wanted to tell her everything, but before I could speak she smiled knowingly and whispered, “Yes… it’s me.”

I stared into her eyes and felt reality slipping sideways again. Suddenly I was beside the waterfall once more. Water crashed against stone while thunder shook the trees. A lion roared somewhere beyond the darkness. The shadows of branches twisted across the earth like spirits dancing beneath moonlight.

Then everything disappeared.

I woke again.

Damn. Another dream.

I rolled onto my side and froze. A beautiful woman was sleeping beside me. Alice. This had to be real but how did she get here.

Rain began to tumble outside while thunder shook the building. Moonlight traced across her naked skin beneath the sheets. I couldn’t tell whether this was another dream or whether reality itself had finally surrendered to fantasy.

The uncertainty aroused me in more ways than one. I breathed deeply as desire moved through my body again. The storm outside felt connected to us somehow — thunder vibrating beneath our skins. Thoughts of being inside her made me hard instantly.

I wanted her completely. Whole heartedly. Everything in my bones was wanting to be with her.

As she slept, I slowly caressed her skin, her hips, her breasts, the softness of her thighs. Her scent intoxicated me even further. Lightning flashed outside, followed by rolling thunder that echoed through the room like a warning from the gods.

Alice slowly opened her eyes. We kissed instantly. Her touch felt identical to the touch from the dreams. This had to be real. My body wanted to explore every part of hers. I slid my fingers between her legs and kissed her neck while the atmosphere around us became heavy with erotic energy.

We moved across the bed together, kissing with hunger and passion. She was a lioness, and I was the lion. Time slowed as my dreams that met reality longed to be inside her. The moment felt inevitable, written somewhere long before we ever met in history.

She guided me inside her with slow, soft movement.

Pleasure surged through us both. At first we moved gently like small waves rolling onto a midnight shore. Then deeper. Wilder. Our bodies danced together. Thunder echoed like ancient drums while I lost myself inside her completely.

The full moon appeared between drifting clouds as we stared into each other’s eyes. I felt myself falling into something infinite — not simply sex, not simply love, but some dreamlike paradise where instinct and soul became the same thing.

Was this the dream people talk about? A dream that isn’t really a dream at all? Was this the feeling of love. To be in love.

The morning sunrise slowly lit the window glass while passion carried us with every kiss, every movement, every moan blurred line between fantasy and reality. We moved through each other like fire and rain, bodies slick with sweat.

Thunder cracked again, intensifying everything. I bit softly against her nipple as desire overwhelmed us both.

Was this reality? Or the exact moment where I wake up from the dream to finally meet the real world?

As I stared into her eyes, we created an orchestra of pleasure loud enough to wake the neighbours. We climaxed together at the same moment, shaking, rattling, rock’n’rolling through the final wave of release.

If this was real, then perhaps dreams were real too. She was more than real to me.

Sweat glided down our bodies as we struggled to catch our breath. We held each other silently for a moment before sharing one long kiss and drifting back into sleep together — falling once more into another dream.

The End