Daniel Hudon's Life of Dreams

One day, a dream had a dream.
It split off from the collection and went to speak to a man.
It wanted to make the man a deal:
if the man would let the dream inhabit his life,
then the dream would become real.
In return, the man could live the life of a dream ...

Now and then, some dreamers dreamed of such exquisite delights,
and so vividly, that they knew they were dreaming.
They even said so to themselves, "I must be dreaming."
Each time, in this lucid state,
the dreams repeated their offer to the dreamers.
But the dreamers couldn't be convinced to take it seriously.
They awoke saying to themselves, to their loved ones,
to anyone who would listen,
"I had the strangest dream last night ...

One night a poet dreamed that he went to heaven
and saw a strange and beautiful flower.
He was dazzled by its color and intoxicated by its perfume.
The poet loved the flower with all his heart and plucked it.
And when he awoke, he held the flower in his hand.

-- Daniel Hudon

Excerpted from "The Life of Dreams", a short story that first appeared in the Avatar Review (Summer 2008, Issue 10), reformatted and reprinted with the kind permission of the author. Daniel Hudon is a Canadian, now living in Boston, where he teaches science.

Dreams that can dream, what an interesting concept. Dreams, not as a random collection of images and abstractions divorced from reality, streaming forth like a rambling, unedited film while we sleep but as a conscious entity seeking enactment. Here the dream chooses the dreamer, not the other way around. (Not that we really "choose" our dreams; it's more like we go into the movie theater of dreamhood without a script and exit surprised, baffled, delighted or horrified, depending on what transpired in the dream.)

A lovely story, from an interesting writer! It really got me thinking. (And dreaming...) Thank you, Daniel.

But really, you should read the story in its entirety! Also check out his new book just out this month, The Bluffer's Guide to the Cosmos.

[If you are interested in reading more of Daniel Hudon's writings, you can find them listed on his web page here.]

*Artwork by krystiedawn