The Third Reich of Dreams
1
In place of street signs,
which had been abolished,
posters had been put up
on every corner, proclaiming
in white letters on a black
background the 20 words
people weren’t allowed
to say. The first was "Lord."
2
In the middle of the night the telephone rang.
A dull voice said, "This is the Monitoring Office."
I found myself begging and pleading that this one time
I be forgiven—please just don't report anything
this one time, don’t pass it on, please just forget it.
The voice remained absolutely silent and then hung up
without a word, leaving me in agonizing uncertainty.
3
"Public Interest Comes Before Self-Interest"
Banners with the slogan fluttered
in endless repetition along a street.
4
An old man was reading
in his apartment when,
quite suddenly, the walls
around him disappeared.
From the street outside,
a loudspeaker boomed,
"According to the decree
of the 17th of this month
on the Abolition of Walls..."
5
I dreamed that it was
forbidden to dream,
but I did anyway.
