nightmare on u street

one of my friends in washigton, on whose couch i slept, suggested that my dreams are too vivid and perhaps they exhaust me or maybe she asked if they do exhaust me. each morning when i woke up (i'm not a person who has trouble waking up and being full of chatter start off) i told her exactly what i dreamed of. the first night wasn't so upsetting (inadvertent shoplifting, absolute promise and intention of reparation). the second night was full of savagery among people i know. fueled by liquor and reefer. it was violent and very frightening. and then i heard a loud sound and woke up with a start at around 4 in the morning, having gone to sleep only two hours earlier, after a lot of talk and laughter and dinner and wine and delicious strawberries and raspberries. and b/c i was in an unfamiliar setting i suddenly became convinced at 4 am that there was an intruder (i know, i had a similar fear last week), and i kept very still trying to hear some tell tale sounds that'd let me know for sure what was to come. i considered calling 911 on my cellphone or going upstairs to my friend, where she slept in her bed, but then i thought, oh, what if the intruder is up there and has already done something horrible to her? and what if that bandit is now waiting for me? should i run out and down the street bare foot, raining, washington dc? and where would i run to?

(it occurs to me yesterday was the ides of march. does that bear significance?)

fatigue set in, i fell back asleep, and was very glad to wake up in daylight and all seemed okay. these are childish nightmares/fantasies. i wonder why they ebb and flow so? and now i am very tired.