Swiftly

Swiftly by Shane Koyczan 

I dreamt once

That even though we're not related 

Even though I'm a boy and you're a girl

I dreamt once

That we were siamese twins 

We spent most of our days brushing each other's hair and playing scrabble

It was lovely

And then one day a doctor told us we could change our lives together

Filled our heads with ideas like privacy

So we said yes

Because we considered ourselves adventurous types

So they wheeled us into the operating room and put us under

And then I had a dream within a dream

I dreamt that I was running

swiftly

And with a grace I had never known

Ducking and rolling to avoid sharp branches

I took lessons from Jesus Christ lizards and learned to step lightly upon water

Then ran across oceans stopping to catch my breath on the backs of whales that came up for air

I ran so fast and so far I felt like a lawman trying to capture the escaped convict of my own breath

Later I woke

And discovered that we had been placed in opposite ends of the recovery room

You were sitting up in your bed, crying

So I asked you "what's wrong?"

And you asked me "why did you run away?"

So I limped toward you

Climbed inside your bed

Ran my hand through your hair and told you

"I didn't. I was running to find you"