I Dreamed of Being
I dreamed of being bigger.
Until I was too big to fit,
uncomfortable in my childhood
room. Unable to articulate.
I dreamed of being smaller
like closer-to-average was a key
to happiness. It took time to find
comfort in my big body.
I dreamed I layed across Appalachia
like its undulating contours were my bed,
like it was the yellow egg crate foam
my memaw would buy to cushion us
against hard old mattresses–
sheets stretched so thin over so much.
13 thoughts on "I Dreamed of Being"
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That last line is killer!! Perfectly wraps up the whole poem!
Yeah, that’s good. “I dreamed I layed across Appalachia.” It reminds me of making topographic poster maps in elementary school by tearing apart foam and gluing it on.
I like what you are doing here. The last verse is very powerful. I have recently been writing about body size/issues. You are singing my song. This may be a short poem but I feel the power of the back story. There’s a lot unsaid — and that’s good.
Great example of body shaming as a child!
I love your closing line so powerful: “sheets stretched so thin over so much”
Love the dreaminess of this, the images in final stanza
gosh, Shaun, you sure know how to extend a metaphor . . . I envy you skill using fresh specific memorable language
“Sheets stretched so thin” — great line
Shaun – I love the way this poem builds to the last verse, which is fantastic. Way to bring it home!
Shaun, your line turns, along with so much else, lead to surprises!
After reading the first two lines, I wanted to leave a comment about how compelling they were, but then I thought that about all the other lines. This poem is so good.
Powerful last line.
Yes, yes — powerful, especially in third stanza and last line.