Richard Hoffman - A Summer Nap

I dreamed I had died
and didn’t tell anybody.

 

It was my death;
none of their business.

 

When I met the angels
they were all the same

 

birds I’d been hearing,
uncomprehending,

 

all my life. And when
I woke I recalled the way

 

their singing felt but no
words, not in this world,

 

though I’m now convinced
there’s more joy to be had

 

than we ever believed
we might allow ourselves.

 

So I listen to the birds
in the breathing trees.