Last Night in My Dreams

Grace Gardner

High School Freshman

February 2023

Last night I fell asleep and dreamt

This might seem a foolish thing to dwell on

For those who always dream

As the sun sets they visit far off lands and dream of their funny little happy things

But the boy who came to visit me

Last night in my dreams

He told me of a hummingbird with rather slow moving wings

This hummingbird, it came to him one day on the beach

The boy had ridden his brand new bike all 3 miles to where the shore materialized

When suddenly, a bird fell from the sky

Now this bird, it squalled and it shrieked

As one would if they lost the might to fly

But the boy did not scream, nor did he move an inch

He simply stared at this bird and wondered where it came from

As this was not an animal that was coastally custom

It was a hummingbird, small, meek, and with the slightest touch it would flinch

Now the boy took this bird home and nursed it back to health

Its wings could flap again and the hummingbird chirped

The boy was elated, and he sent the bird back to its perch

And the hummingbird was safe once again-

But no one wants to be separated from their savior, do they?

So the hummingbird flew right on back to the boy

And broke its poor wings yet again

Yet again, the boy nursed the bird back to health

And this cycle repeated dozens of times-

The boy shifted, and he gestured for my silence

“The bird has come for me” he whispered

And suddenly he was gone, gone to fulfill the bird’s desires

Now this really is a funny story to me

Who would ever nurse a coastal hummingbird?

But as I lay under my covers, weary and withered

I am forever afraid that when I close my eyes

I will see

My very own hummingbird