"Dreams" by H. H.

Post by Doris McCraw

aka Angela Raines

It is no secret I love poetry. Not just reading but also writing it. In my journey with Helen Hunt Jackson, I've had the privilege to read and recite her poetry. She inspired my journey of three years of writing Haiku and posting it with a photo. I eventually published a book of Haiku and Helen is the reason.

One analysis is that the poem is satirical in nature. I can see that, but for me, it is about our actions and how they affect what we dream. Her last line: 'we forever choose what we will dream!' reinforces that idea. 

Below is the poem. How do you see it?

Dreams

Helen Hunt Jackson

Mysterious shapes, with wands of joy and pain,

Which seize us unaware in helpless sleep,

And lead us to the houses where we keep

Our secrets hid, well barred by every chain

That we can forge and bind: the crime whose stain

Is slowly fading ’neath the tears we weep;

Dead bliss which, dead, can make our pulses leap—

Oh, cruelty! To make these live again!

They say that death is sleep, and heaven’s rest

Ends earth’s short day, as, on the last faint gleam

Of sun, our nights shut down, and we are blest.

Let this, then, be of heaven’s joy the test,

The proof if heaven be, or only seem,

That we forever choose what we will dream!

Much like poetry, the words we write may have special meaning to us, but our readers might see or feel something else. For me, that is the joy of writing, touching the emotions of the reader. It is my goal that they finish and have a sense of being a part of the story they've just read. 

How do you see your writing?

Amazon - Kindle Edition

For anyone interested, I have a monthly substack newsletter: Thoughts and Tips on History if you wish to read or subscribe.

Until Next Time: Stay safe, Stay happy, and Stay healthy. 

Doris