Zoning out at Work Vibes

Mild Nightmares

          Last night, for the second time as far as I can remember, I had a nightmare about a totem pole. I do not remember much about the first, but the second is fresh in my mind. I was with my mother in a place I have never been, but I knew it was my grandmother's house. My grandmother was there, speaking quietly with my mother and I sat in silence. My mother turned to me and asked me to straighten out the totem pole in the front yard.

          I walked outside to be greeted by a light gray afternoon and a 20-foot-tall pole leaning slightly away from me. As if the breeze had unsettled it a bit. The pole was so thick that I knew if I wrapped my arms around it, my fingers would not touch each other on the other side. It had no carvings or colors or any special details. It was more like a telephone pole.

          On two sides the pole had a huge rope stuck to the top. The ropes were anchored in the ground by big, rusted, iron pegs. It was the kind of rope people use to anchor cargo ships. It was leaning away from me, so I grabbed the nearest rope and gently pulled the pole closer. It, with terrifying slowness, began to lean in my direction and settled on its flat base. When it was standing straight again, it swayed slowly back and forth before it stilled.

          Just as I was going to turn around and go back inside, the breeze blew it away from me again. The rope was rough and scratchy on my hands. Pulling this giant pole was hard work. So, instead of grabbing the rope again, I stepped on it. My foot met the rope where it was anchored in the ground. The rope went taut, but the pole did not move toward me. So, I focused on the rope and took one step farther up. I concentrated on not slipping off.

          I slipped. I stumbled one step to the right and looked up just in time to see the pole fall past my face and hit the ground inches from the toes of my left foot. I had almost died but was more terrified of the trouble I would be in if my mother found out that I knocked over the pole. ( I am an adult) I was overcome by childish fear and the urge to hide my mistake before my mother found out. I did not end up fixing it before I woke up.

          The rest of my dream made no sense and did not follow a storyline. There are flashes of images that do not go together or follow a pattern. My wife's hand held out for me to hold, Jack Frost from the Guardians movie, and random, dull colors. Everything faded to black and I woke up sometime later at five in the morning.