Through My Imagination

Look there

Look here

Look back again

What do you see?

You see a street corner in a city

Brick walls, cement ground, and rampaging traffic

A lone man near the road, briefcase in hand

A suit and a coat to his knees

You see an ordinary man against a gray cityscape

Look there

Look here

Look through my eyes

Now, what do you see?

You see a previously designated pick-up point

The beginnings of an adventure

A man waiting with secret information

For a cab that’s not a cab to take him away

You see a secret agent on his way to save the world

Listen

Listen to that

Listen harder

What do you hear?

You hear a grating, grumbling sound

Grinding up unwanted bits of leftover dinner

The carrot peels and potato skins

The gurgling of the water to wash it down the drain

You hear a garbage disposal taking care of dinner’s mess

Listen

Listen to that

Listen with my ears

Now what do you hear?

You hear the rusty growling of a creature

Calling for its dinner and chewing it up

Ripping apart vegetable bits, chomping on eggshells

Slurping down water in greedy, growly gulps

You hear a monster under the sink being fed

Eat this

Eat a bite

Eat a bite more

What do you taste?

You taste old, crumbling bread

Lightly burnt and dry as a drought

A roll that would not be served at dinner

A bun that would be fed to birds rather than people

You taste flavorless bread unfit for eating

Eat this

Eat a bite

Eat with my mouth

Now what do you taste?

You taste the day’s unsatisfactory rationings

The bread for which you worked

Flour and yeast to make up a meal to sustain

A small loaf that is a servant’s minimal wages

You taste the food of the slavery of long ago

Sniff this

Sniff that

Sniff it again

What do you smell?

You smell smoke coming off a bonfire

Gray and sharp in scent as it rises from the flames

The logs and papers burning up

The thick, sooty stench of a large, yet tame fire

You smell wood being eaten away by a blaze

Sniff this

Sniff that

Sniff it with my nose

Now what do you smell?

You smell the smoke of a great beast

Pouring from its belly comes the burning blaze

Breathes of choking smoke from its jaws

An inferno of flames and smoldering fumes

You smell the breath of a scaly, angry dragon

Touch this

Touch that

Touch the texture

What do you feel?

You feel the cloth of a dress in a shop

Soft material, pretty colors, fair price

A jeweled belt and sequins around the neck

A skirt that will splay when twirled

You feel a dress suitable for a ceremony or party

Touch this

Touch that

Touch it with my fingers

Now what do you feel?

You feel silks and satins of a medieval seamstress

A royal dress of costly, gorgeous fabrics and gems

Flowing sleeves, shimmering bodice

Fabric of every shade of the rainbow

You feel a gown that would make a queen jealous

Imagine

Imagine with your mind

Imagine with your heart

What is around you?

Is it bland, gray, boring, ordinary, or inconspicuous?

A world of nothing much?

A perspective without wonder or imagination?

Then you’re nothing like me

Not in the least

Imagine

Imagine with my mind

Imagine with my heart

What is around you?

It is beautiful, tragic, mystical, and extraordinary

A world of possible impossibilities

A perspective that sees magic in the mundane

This is who I am

This is my imagination