My Dream Within A Dream

I awoke from a dream -- 
well, let me start again:
My thought was that I had
awakened.  Yet, I rose quite
mistily -- with ghastly figures
hanging in the air, moving
to and fro, in possessed manner. 

Swat at them, I could not.  My
arms would not lift, my hands
seeming porcelain objects.  Residue 
stillness, long after the model
had expired, and the artist had eaten
his last moistened bread meal.

The volume of Poe, lie open
on the bedstead, where it had been
wearily placed, just before my
dozing.  Strange, the last page read had 
been altered...and the name highlighted
for death, was now my own.  Could
this deranged volume and I have
mysteriously, mystically changed
realities?  My name began
to burn, uplift from the page, the savage
apparitions swarming to tear hungrily at the 
fleeing image.  My soul drowning in drool.
Copyright © | Year Posted 2025

Poem

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George Avatar
September 18, 2025 at 5:52 AM
This sounds so dreamy. You were reading Poe's A Dream within a Dream and it went deep into your subconscious that you began to dream of death and apparitions. Joe, this is indeed a magnificent creation! I enjoyed it so much.
DiMino Avatar
September 18, 2025 at 12:23 PM
Ah, another Poe Fan. Thank you, Valsa; have a great writing day. Blessings.
Derden Avatar
September 17, 2025 at 10:08 AM
This one’s a gothic fever dream—Poe would tip his raven to it. The imagery is rich and surreal, with a creeping dread that builds beautifully. “Porcelain objects,” “moistened bread meal,” and “soul drowning in drool” are deliciously eerie. It’s haunting, theatrical, and poetically unhinged in the best way.
DiMino Avatar
September 17, 2025 at 1:56 PM
Hi Danny; nice to see another Poe Fan here. You made my day!
Rodrigues Avatar
September 16, 2025 at 6:12 AM
Meditation of Poe can place one in such a state…wake up! Wake up ;)
DiMino Avatar
September 16, 2025 at 9:43 AM
Turn the Light back on! Thank you, Kim. Have a great day.
Daniels Avatar
September 15, 2025 at 11:46 PM
What a dream ! Poe can have that effect. ThkU for sharing, Joe. X.
DiMino Avatar
September 16, 2025 at 3:18 AM
Thank you, Ghairo; so pleased you enjoyed the read. The title of the contest intrigued me, so I thought I would give it a try. Have a great writing day my friend.
Dietrich Avatar
September 15, 2025 at 9:35 PM
Oh my goodness so dark!! But very Poe-ish. So creative, Joe
DiMino Avatar
September 16, 2025 at 3:19 AM
Deliciously dark! What the heck. Look out Stephen King, you have competition! Thank you Andrea.
Upadhyay  Avatar
September 15, 2025 at 7:51 PM
A brilliantly unsettling descent ,the Poe-like dreamscape, trembling imagery, and raw, claustrophobic voice make the horror feel intimate and immediate. Thank you for sharing this with us.
DiMino Avatar
September 16, 2025 at 8:48 AM
Halloween! 'is the season to be ghoulish. Thank you, Krishika. So pleased you enjoyed the read. Have a great writing day!
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