Sagging nettles framed settling bramble
branches, rats nested in my compost.
Last night I dreamed of my allotment,
I flew above the scene like a drone, a machine.
Terrified to be grounded in humanity’s soft earth.
Last night I dreamed of death, and rebirth.
Last night I dreamed in technicolor, summer fayre
allotment show thrumming. Bees humming,
throngs of people milling in harsh white tents.
In silence I watched the gathering, a smattering
applause as they judged ‘the most-orange carrot’.
None noticed, as I sank through waterlogged soil.
Last night I dreamed of my allotment,
stricken raised beds like shell-shocked soldiers,
choked with mustard stalks gone to flower.
In this dream I had no power, to effect change.
No will to dig the loam, massage the earth,
my will sank in that mire, my growth expired.
Last night I dreamed the willows weeping,
while Tramadol and Valium ran their course
I saw as clear as day, that sun drenched bay
of beds transformed into manicured forms.
Seedlings bursting from glowing humus,
engorged on sun-light and balmy nights.
Flowers perching in string strung rows,
winking at sugar snap and weighty squash,
the spinach, indifferent, growing, virulent.
While all around bees slink, in the shimmer
of heat haze. Days linger like hot welts
of a bee-stung kiss, raising goosebumps.
Although the Valium had ran its course,
my back still creaked in morning light.
Legs slaked their thirst at pains return
shooting burning, in aching yearning.
Meanwhile my allotment withers,
my mind concocts anxiety dreams.
This poem was written inspired by a dream. I keep a dream journal and would recommend this practice to any aspiring poet as a way to explore imagery and themes expressed by their subconscious. In the act of writing down your dreams upon waking, things that you have previously missed in the dream, messages and hidden realizations, can become clear. The photo used in this poem is mine, taken this summer, at the allotment that the poem is written about. If you have enjoyed this poem you can check out my other work on my homepage 
I would like to say a big thank you to the Isle of Writes discord group for helping me work-shop this poem. Particularly, I would like to thank sunravelme and geke for their comments and feedback.