DREAMS

I dust the scattered ones on the duvet, some slip on the floor

swept and lost in winter day's cold grind

few insist on continuation, sequence missed

ruin the grip.

How did they enter our lives,

who taught us to dream?

When do soap operas get created in our sleep, 

 few with multiple casts as in movie Tenet like

past ancestors and present gen Z collide at times,

backgrounds and characters intermingle in sleep.

A toss or a turn ruins the continuum.

Trickles of daylight evaporate the residual few

the steam of one rest on my plain white cup of chai

I sip my masala chai and caress it with my fingernail

dream flattened on the cup, traces recede in the amygdala 

to rehearse another scene for heavy eyelids.

The day rolls brim with duties and activities, night cruises along

yawns stretch, stillness of the night engulfs body and mind. 

Lights switched off, I settle under the blanket, accustomed snore of my husband

he in his dreams probably, my eyes close in a deep slumber

dreams costumed and ready enact their part.