Dead Dreams Are Like Reservoirs
by Steven Portillo
Today in class we were given a wide selection of poems to read and reflect on after so. Now it is assignment time, picking one of the poems we read and writing a twenty-eight-line response reflection poem on that poem you picked. Time to hit the bell and start this response with the chosen poem of “Harlem,” by Langston Hughes. One could ask “Why pick such a small poem?” It may be a small poem compared to the other poems we read today. Though the theme of this Harlem poem caught me by surprise. The rest were great, they had an interesting factor that made me review them. But I found this poem to apply to my life choices and therefore easy to theorize about.
With all the options that it states in the poem, they can all be correct answers. There is probably not a universal rule out there saying otherwise. I think it depends on personality, emotions, past experiences, etc.
A dream could dry up bare as what people know as a drought. When the dream is truly unachievable or undesirable for a person, it goes dry. But if a dream just goes quiet and it is still neutral or greater, it can still be recovered. The best way to think about a dream that is not truly dead and recoverable is a hidden reservoir. You know a insane amount of this reservoir; you hear great things about it, and you are hooked in to learn more about it. But that interest fades away and you move on to other things. When you hear it mentioned you just know there is no possible way I will find this excitement for this reservoir again like once before.
The thing you may not realize is that the reservoir is closer than you ever imagined. Just dropping in to a moment of discussion or demonstration of this once alive dream. Will not only find your way back to the interest of this reservoir, but you will discover it. Something you never found possible and unreachable. The real thing, not just the facts of it but the real thing that you can feel and let your senses go wild.
The main point is if you give a little attention to that dead dream, then a spark may just rise to light up that darkness and it will be a lot better. I went through this darkness during my early 9th grade year. I lost the excitement of becoming a successful Youtuber in the future. A dream I had for years watching content that I wanted to recreate with my twist.
Halfway through the year, I met Mr. Salazar officially, and we immediately grew from staff and student to school buddies. When we talked about video creation, I realized I still had it in me. It never left me when I thought it was over for good. Those days I visited him and we talked as we enjoyed food was like a retreat. Cleared all bad worries and put confidence that I can do good if I put effort into that dream. Today all is well, and I see a great future when it comes to YouTube thanks to that one spark visiting the once stranger known as Mr. Salazar. In conclusion, most dreams don’t really die, they are just hidden in plain sight. You just must pay attention to find them.
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(Featured image from Pexels)