Now I Lay Me Down To Dreams

by Sandy Johnson

Now I lay me down to dreams

Of muted sounds and forest scenes.

Beneath the earth my soul lies deep.

I go to rouse it from its sleep.

I search for it in busy places

But know it likes deep, silent spaces.

I try to bring it back with me

But lose it in cacophony —

Of busy work and daily life,

Of surface living, normal strive,

Of reaching for the moon and stars

And building arsenals for wars.

So back I go to muffled wood,

To table spread with muse’s food

And heady drink which I imbibe

And ask that I might be her scribe.

She lays me down on earth and pine,

I softly sink beneath the line —

Where corporeal cannot survive —

To meet my soul and then revive.

Loosened bonds of conscious waking,

A tip-toed journey I am making.

I take care not to wake the dream

That lends me sight in the world of seem.