Deferred

Inspired by Langston Hughes

What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up
Like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore--
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over--
like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.
Or does it explode?

****************************

I lay awake deferred
My dream beside me sleepless
Naked, beckoning me to confirm
Burgeoning hope or foul nightmare
My mind is ancient as the moon
Milky pool against my sheets
Creamy river, sugary sweet
Borders my conscience, quivers, and weeps
Words seize me in the waning moon
Beseeching my fragile heart to swoon
Thoughts winding round my neck as pearls
Syllables etched against my back
Sleep lays upon me as the sun
My dream a puddle beneath me
Melted, defeated, deferred