“We are such stuff as dreams are made on”
William Shakespeare, The Tempest.
We soar past sleep,
stop to eat
the stars—swallow as they glide,
we abide
outside and within–
of such stuff, our dreams begin
to flutter-float, winging high
to fly upon some glittery boat
then with a quivery sigh,
they drift away, whispering goodbye.
A quadrille for dVerse. Lisa is hosting and asks us to use the word, “abide.”
Yesterday and today: Merril's historical musings 
I love your Tempest reference, and the Redon painting, of course.
Thank you–and yes, of course! 😀
🙂
I must admit that I wish for such dreams… sometimes it seems to me that all my dreams are nightmares because they are the ones I wake from
Yes, I guess you’d remember nightmares you wake from. I often have dreams that make me laugh.
This happens to me too. The absurdity of the dream world. I mostly find my dreams leave me in the morning more ready to face the day.
Scary dreams haunt you, but when you wake from a good or funny dream, it does help start the day on a good note.
I love how you’ve woven one of my favourite Shakespeare quotes into your quadrille, Merril, and made a beautiful poem about leaving this world behind. ‘Abide’ is a very emotive word, I think!
Thank you so much, Ingrid.
I agree it is an emotive word. And I’m pleased you liked it.
Love the “Tempest,” reference and the image; “winging high to fly upon some glittery boat,” 🙂 I prefer your poem to the original by Shakespeare 💝💝
Thank you, Sanaa. You flatterer! 😀❤️
Hahaha no .. the truth .. and only the truth 🙂
😘
Beautiful. So perfect with the painting, too. Redon is one of my favorite artists.
Oh, thank you very much! I love Redon, too, and I’ve used this painting many times, but after I wrote the poem, I knew it fit.
A sweet and gentle poem. A pleasant interlude.
Thank you very much, Beverly.
I love the way you use line-breaks here, Merril – the poem has a real lilting movement.
Thank you so much, Sarah!
Merril, I knew this was going to be good when I saw that image. You’ve done an adult refashioning of Wynken, Blynken, and Nod. I’m delighted by every bit of your poem ❤
Thank you so much, Lisa. That’s lovely-and very kind!
My pleasure, Merril.
Bardic! Very effective breaks; solid imagery. Salute!
Thank you so much, Ron!
I love the light airiness of your prose, Merril. It’s quite beautiful. ❤
Thank you so much, Colleen! ❤️
So uplifting, Merril! ❤️
All three pieces of art (your poem, Shakespeare’s quote, the Redon painting) meld beautifully into a ‘new’ complete whole.
Lovely.
Thank you so much, Laura. That’s lovely!
And I am sighing…”stop to eat the stars”–those are the dreams for me. (K)
Thank you so much, Kerfe!
Perfect fit! Nicely done, Merril.
Thank you, Jill!
To me, dreamy with a touch of edgy. A unique combo, such as sweet and salt. 🙂
Thank you, Frank. That’s interesting. I like sweet and salt. 😀
Terrific lyrical piece Merril – I particularly liked the out-of-control feeling here- we abide in dreams – we sail in them on that glittery sea – but soon they’ll be off. Sigh.
Thank you so much, Peter. Yes, so true. Out of control and ephemeral, too.
Such a beautiful journey, beyond worthy of the bard himself.
Awww–thank you, Lucy!
I love the quote and your prose and the accompanying painting – or should it be painting quote prose. They’re all beautiful Merril thank you –
Thank you very much, Susan!
delightfully whimsical … mixing the Bard and classic art!
Thank you so much! 😀
I can always be captured by a Shakespeare reference and The Tempest is one of my favourite plays, Merril. I love the Ariel magic in your quadrille, especially the idea of stopping to eat stars, and that quaint and beautiful ‘quivery sigh’. A perfect choice of image, too.
Thank you so much, Kim. That’s a lovely comment!
“Outside and within” leaps out, the totality of it, no duality, it possesses. Wonderful poem Merril.
Thank you so much, Paul!
🙂
All of this has such a light feel, the stars gentle touch as they form our dreams – “flutter-float,” “winging high,” and “quivery sigh” – and of course the dreamy feel of the Redon painting.
Thank you very much, Ken. I’m pleased you felt the dreaminess.
This really captures the elusive nature of dreams
Thank you very much, Derrick.
A magical ride or rather sail through art and the Tempest though the winds were quiescent and you launched into another sphere
“We soar past sleep,
stop to eat
the stars—swallow as they glide,”
Thank you so much, Laura!
Adore these words, Merril. You are gifted.
Thank you so much, Resa!
This line from “The Tempest” is one of my favorite Shakespeare quotes. I love how you’ve used it as a starting point for your poem about the best possible dreams, the ones we want to stay in just a little longer before we wake.
Thank you so much, Liz. I must have been in your head again to choose one of your most favorite lines. 😀 I actually thought of that line and posted it with a photo a week or so ago, but the Redon seemed to fit the poem better.
You’re welcome, Merril. Feel free to pop into my head any time. 🙂
🤣
A beautiful description of so many dreams; while you are in them, the feel like they will last forever and as you wake (for me, most times) they drift away, beyond your grasp. I love your poetry
What a beautiful comment! Thank you so much!
😊
I love the imagery of this poem. Beautiful!
check this out https://littlethings001.wordpress.com/2020/11/26/dearest-elise/
thanks
Thank you very much for stopping by and commenting!
Love the poem.
Thank you very much.
My most pleasure.