No, the voice said,
you can’t go back there again.
Why?
I remember it well,
the vale, the forest and lake.
Because it never existed;
a sailor’s dream that never came true.
Wake up now you are onboard a tank ship
crossing a sea that is endless
and you are doomed to sail forever
gripped by a great terror
that clawed at my heart
tearing my innards out
I refused to open my eyes,
kept them shut till a dog barked
and sunlight dripped through my bedroom window.