This one will come back to haunt you.
On an otherwise uneventful autumn evening
You stroll inattentively to where you parked.
A lanky teenager at your heels asks if he can
Drive. Unquestioningly, you give your assent,
Handing over the keys easily, while your mind
Goes on spinning over the same concerns--
Laundry, groceries, your parents' health, a bill,
an email, a recent conversation--suddenly,
The teenager is four again, a wild spark
You spend all your time taming. That grin,
Those fingers, the eyes equal parts innocence
and mischief. It catches you by surprise, and
You remember: you dreamed this. You knew
deep in the folds of your subconscious that this,
This transformation, was coming all along. Hurry,
Open the passenger side door! Climb in
And buckle up, so that this time
You don't get left behind.
8/25/2014
8/06/2014
Reading into things
I'm sitting at my desk, only it's not where my desk usually is. It's out in the hallway, only the hallway is now a wide open office space full of desks, printers, plants, and other scenery. There are no cubicles, so light from the front windows fills the area generously.
Near my desk is a printer station. The printer sits on a wooden desk open at the bottom so the carpet is visible. There is smoke rising from the carpet underneath the printer. As I watch, the carpet smolders and then there are flames. The extra bright, pale yellow flames grow larger by the second until the entire printer stand is engulfed.
Not sure how to react in this situation, I announce to the room at large that there is a fire, though it seems no one else is around. I wonder if I should try to put the fire out, but with what?
Walking down the hallway, I poke my head into a separate office where some of my coworkers are working at desks. I tell them about the fire, and without a moment's hesitation, they are all up and headed for the door.
Yes, I think, this is the appropriate response to a fire in the building. Getting out. Yet, I feel I need to return to my desk to retrieve things - nothing specific, but I am reluctant to just walk out of the building and leave everything sitting on my desk to be consumed in the growing fire.
When my alarm goes off and I grudgingly swing my feet off the bed, my only thought as I reflect on the crisp images of the bright flames is, Great, a work dream.
Later in the day, as I explain the dream to a co-worker, I describe myself wandering around, not knowing what to do. I think of the email I'm waiting for inviting me to accept a new job with a new company, and all the feelings of uncertainty surrounding that kind of decision--do I want a new job? Do I want a change? Is my current employment situation such that I should leave?
Especially in the absence of an offer, I haven't been able to answer those questions, or any questions like them. In the absence of an offer, complacency has trumped ambition, and I have been eyeing the change warily and without enthusiasm. But is loyalty to the status quo borne mainly out of a reluctance to accept change akin to lingering in a burning office?
Near my desk is a printer station. The printer sits on a wooden desk open at the bottom so the carpet is visible. There is smoke rising from the carpet underneath the printer. As I watch, the carpet smolders and then there are flames. The extra bright, pale yellow flames grow larger by the second until the entire printer stand is engulfed.
Not sure how to react in this situation, I announce to the room at large that there is a fire, though it seems no one else is around. I wonder if I should try to put the fire out, but with what?
Walking down the hallway, I poke my head into a separate office where some of my coworkers are working at desks. I tell them about the fire, and without a moment's hesitation, they are all up and headed for the door.
Yes, I think, this is the appropriate response to a fire in the building. Getting out. Yet, I feel I need to return to my desk to retrieve things - nothing specific, but I am reluctant to just walk out of the building and leave everything sitting on my desk to be consumed in the growing fire.
When my alarm goes off and I grudgingly swing my feet off the bed, my only thought as I reflect on the crisp images of the bright flames is, Great, a work dream.
Later in the day, as I explain the dream to a co-worker, I describe myself wandering around, not knowing what to do. I think of the email I'm waiting for inviting me to accept a new job with a new company, and all the feelings of uncertainty surrounding that kind of decision--do I want a new job? Do I want a change? Is my current employment situation such that I should leave?
Especially in the absence of an offer, I haven't been able to answer those questions, or any questions like them. In the absence of an offer, complacency has trumped ambition, and I have been eyeing the change warily and without enthusiasm. But is loyalty to the status quo borne mainly out of a reluctance to accept change akin to lingering in a burning office?
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