So Many Dreams

By Essex Hemphill
Read by Ato Blankson-Wood

Had I been clear-headed
there would have been
no pattern of sanity
to follow.
Out of this confusion
I bring my heart,
a pale blue crystal,
a single rose,
a kiss long held for you
before the myth of Atlantis
was created to challenge
the genius of
Memphis and Senegal.
I long for the occult sciences
to inform you of my affections,
and if this evidence
is insufficient,
then let a single dream
containing the content of my soul
spill throughout your sleep,
and from all the nights
I have longed for you
in a spell of masturbation,
take whatever voice I would use
to call out your name
in the sleeping garden,
take whatever suits you,
my love, for now.

Credits

Directed by Eric Felipe-Barkin.

Copyright © 1992 Essex Hemphill from CEREMONIES, reprinted by permission of The Frances Goldin Literary Agency.