I say she burned the hell out of her toast and then added sickening apricot marmalade to the disaster. Close up the employee kitchen.
That’s a joke, you say. You have no power.
Quit and live under a bridge.
You can’t, you say. You quit drinking.
Nothing I dream about can happen, and if I don’t dream, I run into more burned toast.
Go ride your bike, go take a picture, write a poem, and paint on a surface.
I say thank God for giving me my escape hatches, and you are one of them. Sometimes, without you, I forget I’m okay.
stillfugue 
#1 by carldagostino on April 26, 2011 - 5:12 am
“Nothing I dream about can happen, and if I don’t dream, I run into more burnt toast.” Now this is a line that I would spend time examining with literature students. Being driven by dreams is not folly this seems to say and I agree. As long as the dreams are not illusions but expressions of hope and possibility. Is that a comma after the word dream? That would keep the thought fluent because we are dead without aspirations. If it a period, that seems to break the thought and I would replace with comma. A life of burnt toast is not worth living. A person that presents burnt toast is not worthy of our association. Acceptance in life does not mean the acceptance of burnt toast. Now if you are saying none of your dreams can happen, that is quite a different direction. They may not happen. But we make ourselves available to receiving if they are realized. If we are not available certainly they cannot happen.
#2 by Carl on April 26, 2011 - 6:36 am
Thank you for your thoughtful comment, Carl. It is a comma. You are right that expressions of hope and possibility must be maintained. It may be difficult to remember, but we do need to be available for receiving and we need to keep shooting for some of our dreams, especially when nothing seems possible.
#3 by pattisj on April 27, 2011 - 12:23 am
As long as you have breath, there is HOPE.
#4 by Carl on April 27, 2011 - 9:07 pm
Yes, you are right. Thank you for your comment!
#5 by siubhan on April 27, 2011 - 11:12 am
I agree with Carl, Carl. That line about not dreaming and running into more burnt toast is amazing. Amazing. I identify a lot with this poem, especially about the need for escape hatches when it is all to easy to want to quit and go live under a bridge! Thanks for this.
#6 by Carl on April 27, 2011 - 9:09 pm
Thank you for your comment. I appreciate it!