I’m deep in sleep
and suddenly there’s a voice
right outside my window,
insistent. “Hello? Hellooo?!”

And I wake.
But I’m on the second floor
and, unless someone’s on a ladder,
no one is right outside my window.
Someone was calling for help
in my dreams.

I’m groggy, but waking now.
The world is calling for help.
“Hello? Hellooo?!”

– Karen Molenaar Terrell