Tuesday 16 November 2010

Dreams to Dream

I am a prolific dreamer. It is, simply, one of my best and one of my worst traits.

It reflects my creativity, both narrative and imagery. It allows me to escape the worst bits of the world when I have to. And when I don't, I can sometimes use my dreamy nature to help lift some of the more boring parts of life and make them enjoyable.

But there's also a down side. It's easy to lose one's train of thought or, even worse, for that train of thought to be derailed without you realising and to spend what should be a time of serious and intense study when you should be applying yourself utterly to analysing the sexual nature of the god Dionysus (really...I was reading about it only the other week), studying with equal fervor the results of Strictly Come Dancing or weather trends. Not helpful to a Classics degree.

But worse still are the nightmares. There's nothing I can really say to make them funny. Well, maybe I can, but the jokes are hollow and cold. The first pain related nightmare I had involved a giant turtle biting off my leg. The image is ridiculous and should be laughed at....but I just can't raise the smile.

Tonight was one of the worst. It was a beautifully developed piece of terror with better narrative construction than most classic horror films. Pacing and build up were perfect. And the overlapping of supernatural and entirely natural psycho killer story arches built into a horrible climax. Although thankfully I didn't reach the end. I woke up, feeling like I'd been dreaming for days...holding my face, half of which had just been burnt off by the previously mentioned psycho killer.

And so I have been awake for well over an hour now. The quiet dark time feeling the flood of adrenalin fade away. My stomach begins to settle. And my pounding hot heart delights at the sinking coldness of the air. I can feel the frost outside and the cold light of dawn is replacing the distant orange light of street lamps.

Dreams to dream...thank you very much Linda Ronstadt.

2 comments:

  1. Hi Stephen,
    I know how you feel. I used to have horrific nightmares after I went into my wheelchair. One was that I lived in a totally white world, with just the sky being blue. I would wake up, get dressed and go out only to find myself being chased by a huge group of people all carrying weapons. Axes, saws, etc. They would chase me and no matter how hard I ran, they would eventually catch me. The dream would end as they chopped of my legs and the white world ran red with my blood. I also have dreams with credits, that appear like TV shows or movies. I always thought that's what you get for working in TV.
    When I broke my back again in 1999 I found myself having the sensation of tiny teeth biting my toes and ankles even when I was awake, so I know what you mean there too. Used to drive me crazy. I still get it occasionally. Bloody nerves eh?
    Anyway, love your blog. Keep up the great work.
    Mik

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  2. Hi Mik,

    Isn't it funny how important colour is? I had a similar one in an oriental restaurant - the white paper walls eventually covered with blood. But I have never had credits and am frankly rather jealous! It sounds like your dreams come out ready to be broadcast!

    Thanks so much for your comment. I've always been rather a fan of your television work so I must admit a certain giddy feeling of joy that the great Mik Scarlet has read my blog! Hope you're as well as possible and that we'll be seeing more of you on the telly soon. In the mean time, I'm really enjoying reading your blog.

    Best wishes

    Stephen

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