So Much We Owe Poem by Ted Middleton

Strange what you dream about...yes? It can seem so real
and at the same time be a revelation to you because you
remember that most of it was a surprise and 'new' to you.

You are amazed how true to real life it was.

Yet there was not one part of the dream that was not already
stored in your brain before you went to sleep - and because
it was so vivid and such a surprise to you, it's hard to
accept. But we know it must be true.

One night I had a dream about being in battle as a cavalry
officer guiding my mount through canon fire and marvelling
how trusting my mount was to respond even though he was so
terrified.

I woke in a sweat thinking how much these trusting giants
had put their trust in man for thousands of years and how
we had misused them and in effect betrayed their trust over
and over - right through history. In fact there is still no
limit to our cruelty in some instances... even without wars.

I was in tears thinking about it and couldn't sleep until I
had written this short poem.