I died in a dream last night but rose
again when I rose again, I guess – I
rose at dawn as usual, light rarely
lets me sleep, and got dressed for work and ate
and left the house in the billowing light
but it was dark before I made it home
so I had supper and watched some TV
and fell down dead again on the bed like
I do every evening – now I’m lying
here with the dark but still awake, so light
is within me shining only brightly
enough that I see innumerable
white dots upon the black and when I hold
my hand before my eyes I see my foot.

Gale Acuff has had hundreds of poems published in a dozen countries and has authored three books of poetry. He has taught tertiary English courses in the US, PR China, and Palestine.