Ars Somni

(The Art of Sleep)

For lack of a better way to phrase this, despite it sounding either punny or cliche or both, I dream of dreaming.

That isn’t to say I don’t not dream. There are times when I wake up and distinctly remember the feeling of dreaming, or at least feel similar to how dreaming has been described to me. And sometimes I can remember the smallest glimmer of what my subconscious had been fantasizing about. But it’s never enough to motivate me to keep a dream journal, so even those glimmers fade away over time.

I’ve found people are generally fascinated by things they don’t have. This is true in both the politics of consumerism to media (a pivotal sequence in The Shape of Water is the mute Eliza wishing she could say “I love you” to her fish monster boyfriend). The same applies to me as well. When I write fiction, I’ve found that dreams work their way into the work. Heck, any project I take manages to  get some reference to dreams in there. This blog, of course, now joins that list.

Of course, I don’t really know what dreams are like anymore. These days, all I know are the dreams that my characters have, and who knows if that’s accurate to a dream I might have. I’ve never fallen forever, or suddenly become naked in the middle of a class presentation. But if Naviim’s Daniel can participate in a prophetic vision that dictates his entire life, I am all about that.

-F