Interpreter of Dreams

By Faith Kelleher

Ocean Springs MS

 

Grandmother moans

            in her sleep

utters words

            that are foreign

to conscious minds.

I try

            to interpret them

with my bead burrowed

            beneath the quilts.

The snow is falling

            on grandmother’s house

Coldness attracted by warmth

            melting on the tin roof.

She talks

            about grandfather —

his snow covered boots.

He is trapped

            in the warmth

of her dream.

She moves her arms

            up and down

against the covers

            with a little girl laugh.

Has she fallen back

            into the snow?

Is she making angel wings?

            Her movements become frantic.

“Grandmother!” I cry out.

            She is still.

And the snow clings

            to the roof

while her dreams freeze

            on the pillow.

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