I Dreamed I Was Brave

[Vibya 'Dreams' Challenge Submission] I woke with the moon on my pillow and a city I’d never seen still burning blue in the window like it knew where I had been There were roads made out of water there were birds beneath the ground and a younger version of me there who still hadn’t learned to bow He said, “You left me in the quiet with the words you never said” I said, “I was only surviving” He said, “Then why do I feel dead?” I dreamed I was brave I dreamed I could say it with my hands unshaking and my heart unchained I dreamed I was more than the life I kept saving for some other morning that never came I woke in the dark with my name in my mouth like a match in the rain I dreamed I was brave There were houses full of strangers wearing faces I once knew and every door I opened led me further into truth My father stood in silence my mother turned to glass and the boy I loved was waiting on a bridge I couldn’t pass He said, “You made a home of hiding and called it being strong” I said, “I thought the world would break me” He said, “It did, but not for long” I dreamed I was brave I dreamed I could say it with my hands unshaking and my heart unchained I dreamed I was more than the life I kept saving for some other morning that never came I woke in the dark with my name in my mouth like a match in the rain I dreamed I was brave Maybe dreams are not escape rooms maybe dreams are warning signs maybe every locked door opens when you look it in the eye Maybe I am not the shadow maybe I’m the one who stayed maybe morning isn’t mercy maybe morning is the blade I dreamed I was brave then I woke up and said it with my hands still shaking but my heart awake I dreamed I was more than the fear I inherited more than the silence I was told not to break Now I stand in the dark with my name in my mouth and a match in the rain I dreamed I was brave so I became brave _________________________ Original Lyrics by Mickey Wilder. © All rights reserved.