Turbulent thoughts keep me awake long into the night.
I hear the church clock chime half past three
I wonder if sleep will come and rescue me from the horrors of my mind.
She is just out of reach, the day is long, I call her name over and over again.
I will her to turn and face me, to know the dangers and the joy that mark the journey ahead.
I will her to collect the gifts that I have left for her in my imaginary trees.
A gemstone, aquamarine to give her courage and strength.
An amulet in the form of a necklace fashioned from a treasured threepenny piece.
An orchid dipped in silver to remind her of her inner beauty and remind her of her feminine strength and stoicism.
She is her mother’s child. Strong and stubborn with a compassionate core and a kindness that cannot be compared.
But she has her own demons, they stare her down and gnash unsparingly at her heels making it hard for her to make headway in the ferocious fetid storm of my mind.
I will her to turn to face them, to burn their eyes out with her own inner fire, to blind them with her light.
My child you have the strength of you, and the strength of me,
And then there is God and God makes three.
We are with you through the long lonely night and into the joy of a new day and a new dawn.
© Alison Jean Hankinson
This is for https://dversepoets.com/
We were asked to think about signs. This came from a really vivid dream I had a while back. I think it was when my Daughter was experiencing a lot of change and the dream felt very real. I think I wanted her to know that it will be what it will be, and that we have to trust that it was supposed to be this way.

There’s that number three again, Alison, an auspicious number of powerful symbolism. I usually wake up around three in the morning, so the church clock chiming half past three chimed with me. I love the way the lack of sleep and horrors of the mind progress to three gifts left in imaginary trees. The threepenny piece brought back memories of my nan, who saved threepenny pieces in a large jar to pay for outings.
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Thank you Kim. I hadn’t even realised they were all threes.
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Alison what a powerful dream that feels like so much more than a dream. The clarity of the signs and how you were able to interpret them in your waking, is amazing. The dream world can indeed by an alchemist’s cauldron that crosses into waking world. Love the silver-dipped orchid and how she turns towards her enemies to sear them.
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Thank you very much. It was so vivid I woke with a burning desire to call her.
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You’re welcome. I’d be interested in knowing if she had anything in her dreams that night also.
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“I will her to turn to face them, to burn their eyes out with her own inner fire, to blind them with her light.” Wow, love these lines! Vivid imagery, love what the orchid symbolized for you. Beautiful.
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“I will her to collect the gifts that I have left for her in my imaginary trees.” What an amazing dream. Aquamarine, the amulet of the threepenny piece, an orchid dipped in silver–such vivid imagery. And yes, all the threes.
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Well done. Yes, our roots run deep. Family Faith God and you will make it through.
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Dreams so often show us the way through. When awake we just mull but dreams in their own strange way can give us the tools and strength to make it through! Nice poem. 🙂
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The love here is very strong. (K)
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Yes! That’s what I’m left feeling too after reading this lovely piece…
Much love,
David
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Such a wonderful trinity— nightmares I know so well, the only dreams I know.
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Thank you for reading. Not glad that you have nightmares though. Glad the librarian came out for this one.
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So beautifully crafted Alison 💕
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Good that she becomes conscious of her inner light
Much🖤love
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