Dreams are self inflicted wounds.
A child learns patience
only as an infant bites their finger.
You just have to take it.

Isn’t that the lesson?

Many unwanted memories
involve watery eyes.
Not often do you see them cry.
Not often do you want to.

A dead relative has warmth,
and breath, and feeling
more so in a dream
then they do in the ground.

Yet tear drops on a pillow
aren’t those real?
Aching for a phantom.
Isn’t that evidence of life?