“Life is but a Dream”
Such a famous quotation, from the popular nursery
rhyme - and one that used to really unsettle me, as a child. What did it mean,
“life is but a dream”? What did it mean for me, for my life, for my
place in the universe? What might it imply, for reality as a whole? From a very
young age, I used to wonder…
“Life is but a dream”…
It’s not surprising, then, that as an adult, I’ve
been gripped by films such as The Matrix, that question what reality is and how
much of what we think we know is illusion - and also by scientific studies of
our eyes and brains and how we perceive things differently from how they really
are.
One of my favorite quotations is from Shakespeare’s
Hamlet: “There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamed
of in your philosophy.”
I think this applies to all of us, whoever we are,
whatever our “philosophy” is. I also think that “Life is but a Dream” is an
interesting idea - one that doesn’t unsettle me now, so much as present me with
ideas to explore.
Ideas about the nature of time and space and
reality - and, certainly, about the nature of dreams.
I think that sometimes, we get closer to the crux
of things in our dreams - when our subconscious is allowed to run free - and
that we might do well to pay attention to what they tell us... Perhaps Divinity
- or, call it what you will; our subconscious knowing, our soul - speaks to us
then, when our conscious mind isn’t getting in the way. Perhaps this explains
the prevalence of dreams in Holy Scriptures, like The Bible, when it comes to
God communicating with Humanity.
Shades of Dusk
by Ruth Calder Murphy
Shades of dusk settle
on the foothills of my soul
and the backdrop blushes rosy
to its roots.
Dreams jostle
in my mind’s winding corridors,
and Somnus settles...
I catch a smile slip from Morpheus’ lips
as I drift away
- and out, and through the enlarging portals -
to where newborn, ancient stars are strewn
across my skies,
or where in spite of Night,
the golden sun prepares to rise,
where seasons turn to old decrees
and magic, written deep, in runes,
dances to Primal Memory’s tunes…
Shades of dusk settle on the foothills of my soul
and my spirit rises, free and whole,
above what is - or seems to be -
to wondrous dreams and ostentatious fantasy,
that juggle "what it means" and mere
reality -
and questionings and curiosity -
and plant the whispering seeds
of love and mystery…
Night’s labyrinthian maze delivers me to Morning’s
arms,
through glimpses of Divinity.
~
Ruth
Calder Murphy is
a writer, artist, music teacher, wife and mother living in London, UK. Her life
is wonderfully full of creativity and low-level chaos. She is the author of two
published novels, The Scream and The Everlasting
Monday, several books of poetry and one or two as-yet unpublished
novels. More of Ruth' Spiritual poetry can be found in her book, Spirit Song and
the soon-to-be-released sequel, "River Song". She is passionate
about celebrating the uniqueness of people, questioning the unquestionable and
discovering new perspectives on old wonders. She is learning to ride the waves
that come along—peaks and troughs—and is waking up to just how wonderful life really
is. You can visit Ruth and view more of her art on her website, or on her writer's page on Facebook. All her books
are available on Amazon, here.
~If you are interested in seeing your poetry appear in this blog, or submitting a poem by a woman that has inspired you, please click here for submission guidelines. I greatly look forward to hearing from you!~
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