Poetry Magazine
The Dream of a Fire Engine
Without the sun filtered through closed eyelids,
without the siren along the service road,
without Grandpa’s ginger-colored hair,
Mother’s lipstick, Daughter’s manicure,
firecrackers, a monkey’s ass, a cherry, Rei’s lost elephant,
without communist or past tense,
or a character seeing her own chopped-off feet dancing in fairy slippers,
or Mao’s favorite novel about a chamber —
the scientist of sleep has claimed
that without warm blood a creature cannot dream.
Source: Poetry (May 2012).
Poem Categorization
SUBJECT Relationships, Family & Ancestors, Arts & Sciences, Reading & Books, Theater & Dance
Poetic Terms Free Verse
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