A Dream Within a Dream

Take this kiss upon the brow!
And, in parting from you now,
Thus much let me avow-
You are not wrong, who deem
That my days have been a dream;
Yet if hope has flown away
In a night, or in a day,
In a vision, or in none,
Is it therefore the less gone?
All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream.

I stand amid the roar
Of a surf-tormented shore,
And I hold within my hand
Grains of the golden sand-
How few! yet how they creep
Through my fingers to the deep,
While I weep- while I weep!
O God! can I not grasp
Them with a tighter clasp?
O God! can I not save
One from the pitiless wave?
Is all that we see or seem
But a dream within a dream?
-Edgar Allan Poe



If I'd only known then what I know now,
The advice of elders, I wouldn't disavow.
Everyone always has to learn the hard way,
The world that looks so bright doth betray.
We live, we fuck up, and we learn,
But your life should always be a constant concern.
People try to warn you and say learn from my mistakes,
Trying to prevent friends from more heart breaks.
We dream of a world that's going to be perfect,
But as life goes on we realize we're incorrect.
Life is a rollercoaster with constant turns and twists,
Even when we're happy a dark force exists.
Always lurking, waiting for us to drop our guard,
When it hits again it leaves us charred.
But we still march trying to keep the smile on our face,
And deep down we know this wound we should embrace.
Learn that that was what the elders once told us,
If we'd listened back then we wouldn't have this stress.
Life will never be as perfect as the movies,
When we realize that our life will appease.
Listen carefully to those who've been in our shoes,
So we don't drown again in a bottle of booze.
We just need to be happy with just the way our lives are,
It may be lonely or even a little bizarre.
But life goes on, we continue to learn,
And tell others in return.
Hope they heed the words unlike we did.
-RC666