Dreams and nightmares

For nearly a year
I moved on

Then out of the blue
I remember

The images try to escape
I force the trapdoor shut

I never attended the Christmas office party
Until there was no-one else to organise one

I booked, I paid, I invited, I went
Not one but two

I survived the first
But broke down in the second

He sat to my right
And I was trapped

He kept on asking
Until I started talking

And remembering


He was so quiet in the morning
But on return
Drenched by the rain
He was energised
He had spoken to his cousin
They had found a buyer
For the house on the river

I remembered

And I dreamt

Cycling down the empty road
Trapped in the mosque
Climbing to the exit
Up the spiral rusting metal steps
Complete with calligraphy

Reaching the roof
To find
The trapdoor
Being pushed down on my head