now i lay me down to sleep
	to dream...
the waves washed in
	cooling the sand they touched
i dug my toes in deep
	as the water swirled about them
and felt the gentle roll
	the sliding/curling pull
	as the water receded
i walked away over dry white sand
	toward a cave
		deep ... dark
going inside my mother earth
	where my sister night
		lay down
i entered the cave
	the whole going down
		into the ground
			and felt the subtle difference
between light & dark
	the coolness of the sand
the inviting velvety darkness
	the shadows
		the silence and the solitude
i wandered in and felt the moods descend upon/around me
felt transient/incidental
	in this sultry environment
there was no light
	as i wished it to be
there were no sounds
	save the rhythm
		faint/distant/removed
			of the crashing surf
and then began
	the dream...
i felt the hands touch me before the reality of their embrace
i felt the body against mine before we melted into the mist
the waterfall was there
	how i do not know
as was some moss ... some vegetation
and a light that wavered & changed the color of the scene
into a spectacular mirage
the lay-back feeling around me surrounded my mind and lifted it
somewhere off i heard the distant sound of the earth
breathing/living/loving
a rhythm unlike anything i had ever encountered
it seemed to be based in moods and variations
...but the body melted into mine
	and time lost its petty relevance
lost its hold on me
	released me into the embrace of my secret lover
who ravished me of thought and perception
who completed the continued entry of my mind into the unknown and unseen
i had no idea of the nature of the person i was with
nor did i recall their face
	for it melted with the light
	and continued to change
into the faces of the ones i had known
	the ones i wished to know better
it felt myself being opened and examined
and felt the shame of having my thoughts and motives probed
but i could not stop the dream
	if indeed it was a dream
or was this reality disguised as fantasy
there were feelings here
	as i felt the touch of my lover
and i, inturn, returned this touch
i felt my emotions racing at some half-forgotten
	night encounter with ecstasy
i was there and the light exploded
	as did the dream...
then there was the entrance to the cave
and the darkness gave way to light
	gave way to the sea
		and the sand and water
i was there
	completing my stroll along the surf
		searching for an extra set of footprints
that did not exist nor had they ever
	except within the void
	my mind knows as dreams

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