That Dream Was Exhausting!

I stood waist deep in a cloud
holding a fishing pole over the side
I wore a fisherman's hat covered in hooks
each one labeled with the name of a
past lover

I reeled in a mermaid
the hook embedded in her fourteenth vertebra
her blood was green and blue
she cried and her tears turned into birds
that plummeted into the waves

I would have thrown her back into the sea
but she knew too much
so I strapped her to a rocketship
and launched her into space
the last thing she said
were words sung into my ears
that broke my bones
and stained my lungs

I told my grandchildren
so they could understand
why I walk with a cane
and a limp