dream at 8 pm

walking barefoot
with douglas pedersen,
douglas o. pedersen,
over hill and dale,
toughening our feet...
firestorms exploding in the sky
directly over me,
strangely erotic.
he is thinking of
getting back together with
kelsey and moving to
his old home town,
in ohio?,
and going back to work.

i tell him i would still consider
sharing space with them
once again even after
all of these years.

there were strange magazines
in the doorway
leading down the path,
the dirt path,
where we were walking.

someone was tagging along,
lagging behind
at a distance...
could it have been gary
or my brother pat?

i wake up from the dream.
it is after nine o'clock,
and all of the lights are on here
in my apartment. i have
fallen asleep on the couch
after watching videos,
opera and piano,
on youtube on my
new computer.

perhaps doug has been in-
carcerated
for political reasons
and recently
released.

i am getting old now,
and doug has been gone
about six years.

i don't dream about him often,
but when i do,
it's really deep.