Thus asked the dream, “I love you, dreamer —
Dream on, and do not let me die.
You are the one for me, redeemer;
Lost without your love am I.”
The dreamer answered, “For our sake,
I will dream you until I wake.”
Thus asked the dream, “What do you mean?
Do I not charm your eye and ear
And all the senses in between,
But kill you will — that’s what I hear?”
The dreamer answered, “Wake I must,
Or else I turn to ash and dust.”
Thus asked the dream, “You hate me, when
You take with smiles the gifts I give?
I’ll leave you in the darkness then,
And hate you as long as I live.”
The dreamer answered, “That’s not true,
For as you need me, I need you.”
Thus asked the dream, “I’m on my knees,
Do not awaken — sleep for good?
A life with me’s a life of ease;
I please as waking never could.”
The dreamer answered, “Love is free;
Do not make this demand of me.”
Thus asked the dream, “We have to part,
So will you wake, leave me behind,
But keep our memories in your heart
And hold our feelings in your mind?
I love you, dreamer, that I swear;
Perhaps we’ll meet some otherwhere.”
Thus asked the dreamer, “Dream, you fool,
Are we not dreaming here and now?
I must awaken, that’s the rule,
But let’s take what the hours allow
And hold each other in full feather,
Not waste our last time together.”
The dream answered, “Oh dreamer, lover,
Let me bring you fantasies,
The castles in the clouds that hover,
Gilded, rose-tint reveries.
Let me bear half the load of life,
And leave behind your trouble and strife.”
Thus asked the dreamer, “This will pass.
Do dreamers all forget in time?
Our dreams are delicate as glass,
No matter how sweet or sublime.”
The dream answered, “It’s worth it, though.
I love you — and it’s time to go.”