Lucid Dream

The lines run from May to Fall, landing
finally with a soft bang. Words that once curled
up in my arms, spread like endless flame 

Thought it was over 
over like a drained river 
Tracking the crack of a drought, tears are 
no where to fill an old puzzling tale 

A shell wraps around me like plastic seal, layers of
cocoon dressed in silk 
She thought ‘twas a betrayal but now laughing
as if ‘tis just a prank 
When happy promises turned into dead whispers 
No soul could chew it over a harmless smirk 

This place runs in a most baffling way
A comedy that speaks of horses and snakes
How the snake has a leg of a horse 
And the horse neighs poisonous bruise
A horse-headed snake or a snake-tailed horse
There is no Joke to snap 

Shredding like a lizard, walking with new 
fur, coming out from a translucent corset 
knowing something grew on my back
Squeezing the freak out from the gap
Flying high from your empty cage 

Now, straight ahead and soar up
This is my lucid dream

From the author: The past few months have brought both personal and global changes. This poem, a capstone piece, emerged from my reflections on the shifting lines of fragmented words and scattered sentences. Through this process, old words were transformed into new metaphors—guiding a way toward healing and growth.

QiNan is a bilingual queer writer, poet, and content creator. She writes a weekly blog documenting her journey in science, with entries self-published in Chinese. Over the years, her writing has evolved from prose to poetry, and she has been published in The Apothecary. QiNan is always eager to connect with fellow writers—if you resonate with her work, she invites you to explore more of her English writing here at https://qinanweb.wordpress.com.