Nightswimming (R.E.M.)

SONG: Nightswimming by R.E.M.

BOOK: Our Town: A Play in Three Acts by Thornton Wilder

POEM: The Dreams of the Old by Timothy J. Nolan

So they are around our table—my mother,

my father, an uncle—and we begin to talk

about our dreams—with some urgency—

as if our dreams could pinpoint our psychic

dangers—our unrealized goals—our

ordinary fear of death and the future.

My mother talks about her dreams of flying

over the little town where she grew up—

over the old Opera House—down Main Street—

with all the people she knew below her—

then towards the gently flowing river—

that seemed to flow into the sunset—

toward which she soared—she lingered

with us on that image—as if she had said

enough—then—my uncle talked about

his recurring dream—he's going to be

in a play—but no one's bothered

to rehearse the scenes—he's standing

in the wings waiting to go on—he doesn't

know what he will say—all through this

my father is silent—he is closest to death—

we all know this—we forgive him his silence—

his silence—has his presence—as in a dream.

QUOTE: "Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart. Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens." ~ Carl Jung