Lara Phoenix

A Dreamer's Heart Lara Phoenix

From an early age my dreams were filled with sorrow and scary beings that went bump in the night. Many times, I would be awakened by my own screams as nightmares pulled at me. My father told me I had power in my dreams. To use that power to control what happened. He told me to talk to myself in my dream and tell the others in the dream I was not afraid. It was an amazing thing to be able to control the outcomes of a dream. I was not always able to do it. Sometimes, the darkest of nightmares still pulled me into the darkness. As I grew up the nightmares lessened, and my dreams turned into wonderful tales of love and light. I turned those dreams into poetry and short stories Words became my blanket of safety and control. I use them to share the greatest of emotions. The power of love, the hurt of loss, the anger of betrayal. After my nephew died I found words to help me cope and continued to fill blank pages with poetry and tales of the what if, what could be, and what may be. I am a keeper of journals filled with blank pages calling to me to be filled. When my Mom passed away I stalled. I tried to move forward but I had not the will to pursue the dream any further. Shame on me. A Dreamer's Heart is my dedication to my Mom who loved reading every word I put down and encouraged me to not give up. This book is compiled of poetry and prose written from my dreams, my hopes, and yes, my experiences in this life. We all have dreams we keep to ourselves, close to our heart. Maybe we feel it is wrong to have such dreams, or that it is an insult to the life we lead. Fear not, for our dreams are ours to hold, to share if we wish, or to wrap in a box with a big red bow that we place inside our heart for our eyes only.