The Window

Das Fenster - The Window 60 x 60 cm oil painting by Karin Goeppert

“LEARN CHESS FROM 3-TIME U.S. CHAMP!”

The plots of dreams are tedious. I prefer the salient detail:

a party of nuns, say, munching grapes in a snow storm;

   or “Butterball Turkey” uttered repeatedly,

the way it sounds better than it tastes.

Which isn’t like butter at all.

Such attractive little deceptions worked into the weave.

Dreams are not really a phase of sleep, if you think about it,

but a form of sacred reflection, and if you believe that 

   you will believe anything, which a lot of people do. So you’re

awake and reaching for that thing to read, write, grabbing for

the girl who’s dreaming: if those kids don’t quiet down I’ll kill ‘em,

   and who wakes up to say

it’s Sunday morning, for Christ’s sake, take your hands off me.

Now outside the world is all radio, and there’s that recurring phrase

yet again: “Learn chess from 3-time U.S. champ!”  O what price self-improvement.