All day I pondered
These words of Thoreau:

Our truest life is
when we are in dreams
awake.

In dreams awake,
I saw the heron
Take flight
In response to my footfall,
Watched the sun
Fade behind weakened
Rain clouds,
Heard the muskrat
Break the surface
Of the water in the ravine,
Felt the breeze
Brush past me to dance
With the cattails,
Saw the day end
Beautifully.

These dreams
Spread themselves
Like a pretty dress
On the bed of my hopes.

I will put them on,
Stand straight,
And step into the day--

A dream,
A life,

Alive.