Trip Up North

I had a dream that I was going up north
With several of my friends.
We were discussing which of us would drive
And then decided that we could all go in one car.

I don’t know why,
But everyone was dressed very nicely.
This was odd
As this was going to be long weekend,
Sort like a camping event,
though we would be staying in a hotel.
Most of the events we were going to attend
Would be outside activities.
And yet,
Everyone arrived ready to leave
In very nice attire.

My friend, Marcy,
Was wearing black pants
With a red and white blouse
That had spaghetti straps.
Dolores was dressed in black pants
With a black suit jacket.

When we got into the car
I ended up in the back seat
With two other friends.
There were actually four seated in front.
Lupe was driving,
Though in real life Lupe is already deceased.

During the drive up
We were discussing the talks
That each of us would have to give.. .
. . .some sort of testimony.
The plan was that everyone in attendance would speak.
After each talk,
A flag of some sort was placed
In a design.
The flags for our group were red and white.

When we arrived,
I decided to go for a walk.
One of my friends was with me.
A child started to follow us.
She wanted to warn us about something,
But I don’t know what.
She continued to follow us,
Though remaining behind us some distance.
As we neared a railroad track
We decided to return to the group.

On Sunday we went to church.
The priest had invited several couples
Who had lost a child.
They all came, but were seated, each couple, alone.
No one from the congregation had welcomed them
Or greeted them when they came in.
After church,
They were going to have
Some sort of support group for them.

I approached the priest
And told him that I thought
That each couple should have
Some sort of sponsor couple from the parish.
Not so much to be a part of the support group,
Though I thought that was a good idea.
But mainly to befriend them
And welcome them to our church. .
. . .introduce them to others,
attend church functions with them. . .
. . .basically spend time with them
until they knew some members of the congregation.
The priest decided that mine
Was a bad idea.

After all of this at church,
We went back to all of our activities of the weekend.
More people gave talks
And different colors of flags
Were placed in the design.