Painting by Henri Rousseau (1844–1910)
My best dream came
and found me as I slept
It came
on four legs with a heavy head
Its ribcage rose and
fell it came so
soft it broke my heart and held me
small within its eye
It stood outside my sleep I could not see it
It had no words to say but knew my scent
It had no words to say and would not wake me
I woke when the moon had gone
and my dream
whose mercy is my sorrow