The Dream

("Anagogical Moments Merit Badge", 2011, original oil) The Dream In a dream I talk to a young man in his prime, A bit of a wandering missionary type Eager to engage in spiritual dialogue, And he asks if I’ve ever been to his Beverly Hills sports bar called The Dream. I reply I’ve never even been to Beverly Hills But that it reminds me Of the philosophical question Of there being two kinds of people; Those who say life is a dream, and Those who say life is like a dream. But as I ask him what he thinks of this Basic dichotomy of spiritual insight I wake, and Lay in bed in the pre-dawn dark Wondering who he was, and the challenge he represents. I concluded that he was Christ, The modern day kind Who’d own a sports bar on Rodeo Drive In that shining City of Angels. I liked that he’d name his place The Dream, and that it would be a welcoming place For both kinds of spiritual seekers. I then wondered how many bars Across this vast country have the same name, And how I’d like to do a pilgrimage to them all Meeting their patrons, sampling their fare And seeing all the faces Christ presents In the world today. It would make a good book, Maybe not The Good Book, But an interesting one nonetheless. And within its pages the dichotomy of the dream Would become transparently clear; That while the two seem different, Even mutually exclusive points of view, They aren’t. And that’s the beauty of The Dream It welcomes all. (1/19/24)