and yes, since we can all dream br some other life – but do not, cannot, br dream its divergences, its accidents, br its departures and arrivals, br br I dream some other life br rich in metaphor br so that nothing seen, but br draws into the mind its strange partner br far across the world: br food on a plate seen as br a battlefield; a chair as atoms; br a rainstorm as a marriage; br a fieldmouse as an empire; br br and across years, the whole planet br drawn two by two into the arked mind br meeting its metaphoric partner and br questioning its own image of itself br living in strangeness br br and in after years br a figure seen, in knee-high leather hunting boots br striding through city streets br seeing not a city but a world; br living words as if meeting strangers, br waking simultaneously in many heavens, br knowing the unknown into its own future wordsbr br Michael Shepherdbr br