a dream with aliens

I’m in high school again.
I don’t know how I got here
nor do I want to be here.

There are aliens all around
hidden from humans under masks
and I’m never quite sure
but think I might be one.

I move about the hallways
moving around the students
always wary I’ll be made out.

I stumble across a large room
walls that stretch up high
a wide open chamber
a trial is taking place
the purported crime —
this student is an alien.

Among the jurors
I recognize more than one alien
their masks translucent
these are b-grade movie aliens
large malformed heads and insect eyes
they bang their fists
ready to judge the accused
who
frankly speaking
looks
all too human.

There is an explosion
a slow lugubrious one
no one is even hurt
in slow motion people begin to panic
and to search for the nearest exits
everyone moving to leave
I as well
but first I want to go by school administration
where I find an empty office
and two large chocolate frogs on a person’s desk
one frog lops up the other
and smiles
feeling certain it hasn’t been seen
but it has.

I make my way outside
and find myself sharing a large train platform
full of students
only there is a problem
where the train tracks should be relative to the platform
there is only a small field of tall grass
there is no train coming
but everyone waits.

A sign on a column
in green, red, and yellow
is explicitly a notice for the reggae club
but actually
it is a secret code
telling me where I’ll find Telemachus
as he has infiltrated the school.

I ask one of the more intelligent students
school’s over, isn’t it?
he replies
yeah, I guess.

I step off the platform
into the tall grass
and make my way for the parking lot
then in the distance near the main road
I see two angels
standing by a slick red car
a well dressed man and a woman
sleek and beautiful people
they wave to me
and offer me a ride
I wave back
but decline
I’ve my own car
it’s then that I realize
I’ve forgotten where I parked it.

– matt at shadow of iris