Challenging Poetry

a glimpse behind the curtain

I was napping today,
letting my mind stretch into
the infinite now of dreaming
where stories grow and pass
away behind closed eyelids,
and poems sing unbidden
images coming together
unhindered by waking
ideas about what is real,

and a trumpet sounded
sharp and clear and fire orange
announcing the star rise,
behind the noon-day sun,
and cats formed a kick line--
“as tall as your noses,” said
the choreographer, who insisted
I join the middle, but my palms
were sweat soaked against the
cat's fur, and I accidentally pulled a
string and heads rolled, across the
stage like bowling balls,

and my phone chimed and I woke
just as I almost realized the purpose
behind everything, but I lost it
in waking, until all that was left
was this poem.

Prompt: April 30—Ars poetica