Working and Dreaming (Poetry Monthly)

Working and Dreaming

I am working and I’m dreaming

while I’m marking and I’m planning

and I’m thinking of the cleaning

and the washing and the shopping

and the cooking and the tidying

before I go to work

so

I

must

do the marking and the planning

and the thinking and stop dreaming

of the talking and the laughing

and my children have grown

and I hardly see them

‘cause we’re too busy working

and dreaming of the time

we

can

stop.

I am letting my mind wander

while my body carries on

with the functions it is paid for

but I feel it is longing

to move in clean air

to feel the ground beneath it

and to touch the world beyond

but

I

must

do the driving and the looking

at the road ahead

the working not the dreaming

thinking instead

and time is a ticking

and my heart is still beating

and I am awaiting

for it

to

stop.