What Makes a Dream a Dream?

© Matthew Word Bain

after a grey golden hour behind a low cloud bank
the sun returns to brighten the transition to twilight
turning the thin white clouds a soft, pastel orange
and the dull white sky to a welcome light blue
walking around this town was a dream, really
I woke up the next day knowing I had gone
but every aspect of my memory of this visit
was just like the memory I have of dreams
it was as though I had just floated through
and the whole place was made just for me
just for that evening, just for my meander
and, while I do have these images to share
they themselves have a quality about them
more consonant with dreaming than waking
and I’m still not sure what to think of that trip
one day I will go back and see what else I find