For My Own Future Reference

I dreamed last night that I was in Norway, passing on foot through a small village at night, trying to find a road that I knew but could not name.

I was nervous about slipping on the icy path, and I was burdened by something heavy in my coat and trouser pockets. People kept stopping me to ask questions or offer help — I presume, because I couldn’t understand their language — but I was unable to speak.

At some point in the dream I arrived at a large cemetery and began emptying my pockets. I was carrying dozens of batteries, ranging in size from “D” down to “AAA.” I began moving through the tombstones, placing a battery on each like some sort of offering. And in my dream, I knew which size battery was appropriate for which tombstone.

When I came to the last battery, there were still many tombstones left and I felt disoriented and anxious, not understanding where I was supposed to get more batteries for the remainder of the graves.

And then our elderly cat strolled into the bedroom like an animated piece of carpeting and yowled me awake.

~ S.K. Orr