On Edwin Rojas’s ‘Artista Cileno’

Miles Heltzer

__________

I stand here, unbothered, surrounded by chaos.

Music plays from the phonograph, calm jazz.

Ships face off behind me, on the verge of collision.

Buildings to my side, left and right, while people stand idly in front of them, one wearing blue and one wearing red.

I kept quiet, still, in my luscious red dress that I feel like I’ve worn for years, but never actually seen before.

As mayhem occurs, I focus on the music.

The sweet, tender feeling of the trumpets and the beautiful piano.

I look around again to see my house in flames.

I want to scream, scream so loud that it would put out the fire and turn back time.

Then I wake up.

I sit up in my bed as my thoughts race in my mind.

I check the clock: 4:33 AM, still two hours before I must get up for school.

Pirates? Crazy outfits? Weird ships? I even remembered a rabbit in a suit.

“What a strange dream,” I think to myself, as I place my head against my pillow and continued my slumber.