the dark isn't so heavy when I'm sleeping

I keep seeing the same homeless man
at the main bus stop in town
and I remember seeing him
one time at a soup kitchen
loaded up with a suitcase
a bunch of bags and a swag
and I don't want to imagine
how hard his life must be
living on the streets
keeping himself from the drunk kids
with a grugde against the world
and boots that don't care what they kick
as long as it feels good
and bad weather days that have no mercy
for anyone down on their luck

I've been homeless
but always found a roof
I could pretend was home for a time

I sleep to dream of cars with big boots
big enough to sleep in
and sheild me from the rain
though it wouldn't be that comfortable
on a rainy summers day
I dream of sleeping by the beach
and waking up to a beautiful sunrise
or the cops knocking on my window
telling me I can't sleep here
that I have to move along

I don't have a car

I sleep to dream of houses I've never lived in
only to wake and realise they're not mine
and instead pray my dreams
are a premonition
of easier times ahead
where I can put down roots
and breathe easier
in the rooms of a place I can call home

Everything else is only temporary

I sleep to dream of better days

© Indie Adams 2022