The dream spun
In and out of focus
The world swirled
And then stopped
Back in reality, or so I thought

And there she was
The object of all my dreams
All my hopes
Bundled into a single person
Standing right in front of me

But we just stared at each other
Silent, waiting
I stepped forward
Looked her in those familiar eyes
But the dream blurs memory

I don't remember
What she was wearing
How her hair was done
Where we were
Just her reaction

I opened my mouth to speak
And she just looked coldly at me
As if she were angry
This isn't her
It can't be her

And I was right
It wasn't her
I gasped awake
Clutched the sheets
Holding onto the dream

Relief washed over me
Like a tsunami for half a second
And I was okay for that half second
And then reality struck again
And I realized the dream was real

I had been right, that wasn't her
Cold and wordless
As I tried to speak to her
For the first time
In a very long time

It was me

And I realized it
Because the dream had done
What dreams always do
It had flipped reality
In order to show us the truth

Someone extending love
In a harsh circumstance
Only to be brushed off
With a scowl
Shattering a heart

It takes nightmares
To show me the truth about myself
To make me realize the harm I caused

So when she told me to smile
I should have smiled

But I didn't

And I regret it