I had a dream, I was in a stream, floating with a back pack full of books. I had heavy work boots on and could not swim. But I was bobbing on the surface comfortably enough in the warm water. It was twighlight and I could see the expanse of water in front of me after I had been pushed away from the brick wall I was holding onto before. I could not advance toward the dam.

I wanted to find an illustration for the visual I had in the dream. I thought of the dam at Lower Mills on the Neponset River where Baker’s Chocolate once had a processing plant. When I found the picture above on Pinterest I had a flash of recognition. This is the model of what I saw in my dream. I haven’t seen this view for decades. But I was familiar with the banks of the Neponset River when I was around 12 years old and a young explorer with my friends.

I guess I had a template for a watery scene stored in my brain cells.

If the photo above was darker it would illustrate the scene I was dreaming.

I wasn’t sinking; I wasn’t panicking or feeling I was drowning.

One evening last week I was listening to a number of versions of the Clash song ‘London Calling.’ I got a clear understanding of some lyrics that I had only half heard, or half understood when I saw the words onscreen.

In particular the line “London is drowning and I, I live by the river!”

With the COVID-19 pandemic and lock-downs and lack of work and money, I feel powerless. I might have work boots and a willingness to work; I might have a backpack full of books to guide many activities. I can see a destination, but the water and time and tide are pushing me in another direction. I’m not drowning, but, I’m not going anywhere.

Looks like my sleeping brain came up with a metaphorical situation to give me a graphic and tactile experience of what I am experiencing in the real world when not asleep and dreaming.

I never worried about the books on my back getting wet.

https://archive.is/zb8qf