But Should I Dream A Child...................... Poem by Minnie Gehrig

as long as i do not dream
a swaddling infant
with your eyes n my smile
i may be persuaded to stay

as long as freedom still dances
fire across the wick
of my wax like yearning for you....

waning n flowing as it does.....

n the future stays as it should shadows on the wall
changing n rearranging themselves....

n my grandmothers face remains in the smoke.....

but should i dream a child....
a silver band...
a rotating clockwork life

a candle that has burned its wick n
a flame that no longer dances
should the room grow dark n quiet

and we rest side by side
with only the sides of our hands touching...
should my grandmothers face disappear n ashes
n i become unrecognizable to myself....

a walking death..........
a mask of horror i see on the faces of other
unsatisfied women....

i promice i will be gone n the morning...
in the red dawning of the sun....
n not look back
n never return........................