unlived, unread

whatever its story now
its pages become dreams
lost to all futures

time gone away
lights gone out

a book that slides from the hand
of a sleeping reader
an ending before an ending
hitting the floor

all reality conspires
to this question:
does the impact here
rouse the sleeper
or merely shuffle off
undressed, derelict
into the unrecoverable
narratives
of dreams?

.