In my dream
I went for a walk along
a boardwalk but there
was no beach to be seen.
I came across a little girl
sitting, leaning against
the railing, forlorn would
describe her fairly.
I took off one of my
gray socks, a black seam
across the toe, stuck it
on my hand, now
a sock puppet.
She smiled so I
gave her the sock.
She arose and seemed
to float away a half
foot above the boards.
I awoke soon after.
Yesterday, pulling my
laundry from the dryer
I found a gray sock
was missing, not to be
found despite my search.
I did hear the faint
sound of a child’s laugh.
It must have been
the neighbor’s daughter
playing in their backyard
if only she hadn’t died
several years ago.

First appeared in Homer’s Odyssey Magazine, June 26, 2024
https://homersodysseymag.com/blog/f/missing-my-judas-dream-on-and-words-only-words-by-louis-faber?blogcategory=Poetry