Bliss

I had a dream once during the Cold War – I must have been in my late teens or early 20s, so around 1982 or so – in which there was a nuclear explosion.

In fact, it was a nuclear holocaust: the whole world went up in flames. I remember in my dream seeing the mushroom cloud, and then my senses went dark in the dream, like I was falling asleep while asleep.

Moments later, it seemed, I awoke in a small, dark closet, like one of those guardhouses in front of Buckingham Palace. It was similar in size, and it had an A-frame roof and a door with a knob on the inside. It was pitch black inside.

I opened the door and walked outside, into a circle of children who were holding hands. There was bright light and warmth, like a summer day. The children were singing, and all around was a cultivated garden, flowers everywhere. I joined the circle, and I remember being…happy…really happy. In that circle.

I don’t know how long that part of the dream lasted, but the image has stayed with me these past 25 years, vivid as ever. I can still feel the circle of children around me, singing, after the world disappeared.

photo: jwestveer