Paradise lost

Bread buttered

Filling added

Sandwiches made

Snacks added

Wine packed

Blanket selected

Car loaded

Journey starts

Busy traffic

City streets

Moving faster

Countryside views

Radio playing

Summertime music

Parking car

Riverside trail

Carrying basket

Holding hands

River bank

Shady tree

Laying blanket

Opening wine

Sharing sandwiches

Sipping wine

River flowing

Birds singing

Fish jumping

Laughter sounds

Finish eating

More wine

Loving embrace

More wine

Long kiss

More wine

Eyes closed

Holding hands

Heavenly bliss

Found paradise

Loud noise

Alarm clock

Waking up

Dream over

Empty bed

Dark outside

Feeling cold

Mid winter

Snow falling

Dressing quick

Breakfast snatched

Frantic commute

Arrive workplace

Co-workers nod

Work begins

Paradise lost 

Mermaid

a young boy sat on the dock

fishing pole in hand

gazing at the water

dreaming of catching a mermaid

a young girl came beside him

smiling she asked his name

“Robert” he replied

she was very pretty

many years since passed

Robert never saw her again

he never married

he grew old

Robert sat alone on the dock

fishing pole in hand

staring at the water

dreaming of that young girl

nobody came to join him

the fish were not biting

no mermaid to be found

veiled in sadness

wishing that he could go back

to being that young boy

and meeting his girl again

his eyes closed

Robert fell into the water

gasping his last breath

he surrendered to the deep

it was easy to let go

he woke up coughing

a beautiful lady kneeling beside him

she smiled and said “hello Robert”

he could see the young girl in her face

Robert married his rescuer

they sit together on the dock every day

holding hands and smiling

Robert had finally caught his mermaid

Dreaming on the Autotrain

The gentle rocking of the train

Accompanied by the clicking of the rails

Lulled me into a welcome sleep

Warm and cozy in the sleeper car

I woke in the middle of the night needing to pee

Not wanting to get out of bed

Laying awake and listening

As the train rumbled through the darkness

Eventually I had to crawl out of my bunk

Careful maneuvering in the cramped quarters

Entering the world’s smallest toilet

Which would be a great challenge for any larger folks

Stumbling and falling back into bed

My body now refused to succumb

To the train’s hypnotic rhythm

Each rock and roll keeping me wider awake

I started to think of distant memories

Trying to recall the details of events past

Visualizing the faces of friends from long ago

Some of whom’s names escaped me

I thought of the faces from my old class photos

Wondering where all those folks were today

What kind of lives they have led

How far and wide did they scatter

I drifted off to sleep again

Waking as the train jolted

I had been dreaming about my schooldays

Chatting enthusiastically with my classmates

Their faces and voices were crystal clear

Conjured up from my sleeping memory banks

Back in those days I could never have imagined

That fifty years later I would be on the Autotrain dreaming of those times

Flying high at Mach 2*

I had a very memorable dream last night

I was flying an aircraft

not just any old aircraft

I was flying at supersonic speeds in Concorde

not as a high fare paying passenger

I was piloting this elegant bird

it was a very vivid and lucid dream 

I was complimented on my excellent piloting skills

and received an award for being the longest serving Concorde pilot

upon waking I researched dream meanings

of course there are so many different interpretations

I picked the once I liked best

my life is so good and the sky is the limit

then I did some more research on the Concorde program

it was a joint collaboration between the British and the French

I spent over 40 years working in Anglo/French companies

Concorde was financial disaster which huge cost overruns

I decided not to make comparisons on this

it mainly served the transatlantic routes

I have lived in both Europe and the US

It was retired in 2003 as it was financially unsustainable

my first marriage ended in 2003

all of this is valuable material for psychologists

some found that people who have lucid dreams

 are less anxious

have excellent motor skills

are great problem solvers

are very creative

some psychologists would surely be asking the question

why does a senior person yearn to fly an expensive noisy gas guzzling dinosaur

I have decided to make my own concluding interpretation of this dream

 I have escaped to enjoy limitless freedom in my life

I hope Captain Hunter flies again soon

all aboard

sweet dreams my friends