My dreams stayed small,
Though I dreamed them large.
Looking back now,
They’re the dreams I can’t find anymore.
My dreams stayed in the clouds,
The day I let them slip
While watching through the airplane window,
I never found my way back.
My dreams rested on a butterfly’s wing,
Once deceived by its bright colors.
I burned in love’s flame and crumbled to ash,
Both gone by the light of day.
My dreams stayed in my father’s arms,
Longing for the scent of him.
All that’s left is his cap,
The one he wore with such love.
My dreams stayed on my daughter’s cheek.
She grew up and went away.
How could I blame her?
She was only listening to me.
My dreams searched for my mother’s eyes,
For her voice, so full of magic.
I was her little lamb, wasn’t I?
But where are you now, Mother?
My dreams remembered my childhood,
The scribbles in my old diary.
I was going to be a teacher when I grew up.
I became one, but something was always missing.
My dreams held tight to the picture
Of me and my daughters, wrapped together on the shore.
The sand writing, ‘We love you, Mom’,
And the old me, hidden like treasure.
Because those dreams, they were the ones
I protected with my life.
Beril Yabar
