Why I Loved Cds Poem: Past Time Nightmare

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PAST TIME NIGHTMARE

Based on events I experienced.

A child of four suffers recurring dreams,
disturbing parents and siblings with screams.
When she awoke, always sore in one knee;
next to a birthmark, it throbbed painfully.

Night after night she feared going to bed.
What caused these nightmares that raged in her head?
Even when grown, the torment persisted,
so a therapist’s aid she enlisted.

“Hypnosis,” said he, “might offer some clues.
Why not try it?  You’ve just bad dreams to lose.”
Once under, he guided her to a room --
here people’s lifetimes in books were entombed.

“Find one that is yours,” her counselor said.
Quickly she did, but before it was read,
she felt an ache, saw just a faint title.
The words, she thought, said “Alister Bridle.”

The hypnotic trance now suddenly broke;  
puzzling questions “Mr. Bridle” evoked.
For many years she thought that was her name;
perhaps a past life had been filled with pain.

Who was this man?  She simply had to know!
Seasons passed, summer suns made way for snow.
In Florida now, 1998,
she thought all the nightmares she had escaped.

But strange dreams always catch us by surprise --
when the lights grow dim, our minds fantasize.
Cloaked in velvet, she left her parents’ farm,
stealing away on a late autumn morn’.

To meet her love, she climbed on the carriage,
Warm-hued leaves carpeted the hillside road,
knowing her folks would forbid their marriage.
and her pulse beat fast; she’d soon join her beau.

She thought only of him; joy cast its smile,
but that’s when he called, “Alice, the bridle!”
The leather band broke and wrapped ‘round her knee.
To the ground she was pulled; her horse ran free.

She met death, but past-life dreams recycle,
and she’d never been “Alister Bridle.”

Copyright © Carolyn Devonshire | Year Posted 2009


My comment.
This is the first poem which Carolyn posted on Poetry Soup.  Immediately I was attracted by her capability of writing poetry.  Written in couplets, I knew I could never achieve such verses at that time.  I am more enthusiastic in writing free verse.  

Everybody suffers from nightmares but not in re-incarnation.  I personally had a few nightmares in my life.  Such dreams come because of anxiety.  I did my homework and tried to envisage how she wrote her poem.

Time passed and we began to correspond through Soup Mail.  We did not mind expressing our problems and ideas.  The worst was that I was not much of a writer.

As the days rolled she told me of her digestive problems, until one day she sent me an email telling me she was terminally ill.   It was the last time I heard from her.  Within a week she was gone for ever.  She was cremated and ashes strewn into the Florida seas.
I still grieve for her.  Now she is at peace.

!2 September 2021

Copyright © | Year Posted 2021



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Date: 9/29/2021 12:21:00 PM
I miss Carolyn every day. This poem is one of my favorites too. Carolyn was a kindred spirit from the beginning of our first meeting online here. We became the best of friends. She planned to visit me here in Hawaii, but sadly there was not enough time. We spoke about this poem and shared similar beliefs. I enjoyed your commentary about her. She and her poetic gifts were such a blessing. xxoo
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Date: 9/19/2021 10:28:00 AM
Victor I love the beautiful commentary you wrote at the bottom of this poem, and how you told the story of how you got to know Carolyn better first through poetry and then coming to know her more personally. I am glad she reached out to you at the end. I recall this poem of hers and how she believed in reincarnation. it was fascinating to me. Thanks so much for contriubuting this interesting poem that she wrote.
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Date: 9/15/2021 10:54:00 AM
- No one who knew her will forget her kindness and beautiful poems, Victor - Beautiful tribute :) - hugs // Anne-Lise :)
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Date: 9/14/2021 2:04:00 AM
This is such a precious tribute to Carolyn. I'm glad you got to know her well. I too read this story she wrote, and I had no idea it was her first entry on Poetry Soup. The ending was such a surprise! She was very talented.
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Date: 9/13/2021 10:41:00 PM
Hi Victor, I see why you loved Carolyn's first poem on Poetry Soup. It was so well written. Good tribute to her as well. She was an amazing lady and poet. She will be missed very much-Alexis
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Date: 9/13/2021 2:46:00 PM
Carolyn’s first poem written for PoetrySoup was wonderful Victor as is your tribute to her. To lose a good friend as you have is so sad, bless you, Carolyn and her family too… Belle
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Date: 9/13/2021 12:37:00 PM
Great choice , and great tribute to one lost to soon.
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Date: 9/13/2021 12:04:00 PM
Carolina's lovely poem and your touching, heartfelt words are a wonderful tribute, Victor. She will be greatly missed.
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Date: 9/13/2021 7:32:00 AM
Thanks for sharing, Victor.
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Date: 9/13/2021 7:10:00 AM
You chose a beautiful poem of Carolyn... Victor... Though I didn't get to know her much, reading her poems make me feel I had always known her before... What she left behind here, will keep inspiring us poets forever... God bless.. ~ Ani
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Date: 9/13/2021 6:43:00 AM
WoW! Victor! I had no idea Carolyn had passed! This is a complete shock to me. A fine poet and friend. I never knew she had such problems. A great loss to me. This is a great story/poem and a fine tribute to her. God Bless, JB
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Date: 9/13/2021 6:33:00 AM
Exquisitely written poem, Victor, your shared memories are strikingly powerful, to cherish and remember the life of a closed friend. Unfortunately I didn’t have the chance to know her, but I wish I did. Superb tribute from a friendly heart. Blessings
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Date: 9/13/2021 6:09:00 AM
These memories you shared are so very powerful, evocative of care and friendship. She indeed was a wonderful person, Victor. Your tribute to her is superb, elegant.
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Date: 9/13/2021 5:37:00 AM
Carolyn’s great write and your heartfelt words. To cherish, that she shared her fate with you, though now you mourn for her. You are indeed a great friend to many on this site, dear Victor, as was Carolyn.
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Date: 9/13/2021 2:29:00 AM
A great poem you chose, Victor, agree with you on her writing ability:) good to know that you had a close bond with Caroline, she will truly be missed forever...
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Date: 9/13/2021 1:48:00 AM
I think it is great you sharing this poem, what a wonderful human and poet, Carolyn was... Will be missed around here.. such a sincere person. The flow of your poem is great but its great due to the personal feel to it..
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Date: 9/13/2021 1:35:00 AM
She was such a talented writer Victor, be it something serious or humourous she always delivered. She always has time for people and when I look back at some of my work and see uplifting comments from her I realise she's no longer here, still cant get over that fact. Tom
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