Jefferson's dream

The young man lay prostrate upon his bed
Sleep eludes a weary, hopeless mind
Soon, though he knew not when, oblivion
With a coarse grasp, composed of dread
Would come to make him dead

Hours passed, and yet still the sting of death
Scratched, poked, and interfered with placidity
Until the body, with languid breath
Subjugated the frantic mind’s musings
Henceforth poured many dreams

Jefferson thought he stood in a vast plain
As if in a trance, cooled by a silk breeze
That undulated through the wheat and trees
He walked, for once with a sense of freedom
Like he were unchained; at home again

To his dismay, with each step he took
The noontime sun set lower and lower
The wheat flowing against his body shook
In unison with the slow sinking sun
His nightmare had begun

He continued, by a reason he knew not-
The sun floated upon the horizon
And with a pernicious jeer emblazoned
His fate and time: the wind spiraled beyond,
Biting at him with frost

The sun conjoined with distant skyline,
Darkened, and the atmosphere around him
Became more pallid and covered in mist
Night! Even in his dream state, fear persists
In comprehension of such malign

Ay, night is no term for such an abyss
He could see naught but the stars overhead
And yet he still traveled through the darkness
The wheat below, he felt, changed shape and form
and lashed against his legs

The outcroppings wrapped around him, ensnared
Powerless as they turned him towards the sky
He saw a dark, moving figure that flared
Blackness from out of blackness up above
With a salient hourglass

“Retched fool, a pawn in the white man’s game
Fate has wrought for you most sad circumstance
Never will you know love or happiness
Never will you breathe the pure air again
Another fat, dark-skinned hog now slain

As a child and an adolescent
never would you have dreamed this fate upon
Which now chokes your utterance so coldly
Your reality, your dreams, and your friends
All is gone, all is gone”

With these words spoken the appar’tion fled
And the gaunt-eyed Negro widened his eyes
He felt him self falling away downwards
Until, breathing pure fear, he rose in bed
‘Tis the thoughts of a man who realizes he’s dead