For a Dream - a poem

This is a quick poem I wrote during my senior year of high school, reflecting on the pursuit of dreams and the passage of time. It was inspired by a combination of personal experiences, the works of Albert Camus, and a desire to capture the bittersweet nature of chasing one's aspirations. I hope it resonates with anyone who's ever had a dream they were passionate about.

(To a Dream)
What is a dream to me:
Serene meadow, or the darkest sea,
Absolute silence, or ethereal song,
But alas, I lie still, a sense of long,
Plighting beneath a never-ending sky,
The sun, casting a shadow where I lie.
And in this shadow of a dream,
And in this parting from you, I seem,
To find myself – still thinking – upon a dream,
For what is a dream to me?

A dream? A book one thumbs,
Sure, some will expect to fully succumb,
To the turns of the page, never reading a word,
And so they make this idle boast, to the dream deferred,
“Our youth has gone, and yet still we walk immersed,”
In darkness, as fleeting as a shadow, their hope dispersed.
In this shadow of a dream,
And in this parting from you, I seem,
To find myself – still thinking – upon a dream,
For what is a dream to me?

Yet, I still wake, a strip of sunlight lay across the ground,
It touched my hands, my face, but asked no resound,
This quiet place held nothing I could lay claim,
Yet in that stillness, something calls my name,
The day will end, indifferent as before,
And still, I found I could not let it go, I swore.
In this shadow of a dream,
And in this parting from you, I seem,
To find myself – still thinking – upon a dream,
For what is a dream to me?

I fear the dusk, but not for its dark, nor its peaceful sleep,
But the living hour that I will not keep,
For what is a dream, but to bring to reality?
I choose the climb, and call this labor dream, a duality,
A dream, slowly flutters like a lone leaf in the breeze,
To me, a dream is the day to seize.
In this soft radiance of a dream, I stand,
And in this parting from you, I command,
To find myself – not resting – but to esteem,
To live most truly, striving towards our dreams.