Almanac Poetry: To Leanne, My Long-Lost Friend, Nude in Last Night’s Dream
The Golden Age, by Lucas Cranach the Elder, oil on panel, c. 1530. Alte Pinakothek, Munich, Germany. [Wikimedia Commons.]
To Leanne, My Long-Lost Friend, Nude in Last Night’s Dream
Leanne, my long-lost friend,
you were nude in last night’s dream.
You slipped your silky negligee
off your shoulders to the floor.
And there you stood,
all feminine curves,
beguiling, non-Brazilian.
You encouraged the rest of us in the room
to follow your startling lead.
Others quickly did so.
Nervously, I disrobed.
We intended to run out the door
and frolic in Arcady (I presume).
But we never got there.
Amid a blur
of pubic forests and naked skin,
alas my dream was over.
(Acknowledgement: poem first appeared in my fourth poetry collection, Sacredly Profane, Ginninderra Press, 2020.)
Read more from Kevin Densley HERE
Kevin Densley’s latest poetry collection, Please Feed the Macaws…I’m Feeling Too Indolent, is available HERE
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Kevin Densley is a graduate of both Deakin University and The University of Melbourne. He has taught writing and literature in numerous Victorian universities and TAFES. He is a poet and writer-in-general. His sixth book-length poetry collection, Isle Full of Noises, was published in early 2026 by Ginninderra Press. He is also the co-author of ten play collections for young people, as well as a multi Green Room Award nominated play, Last Chance Gas, published by Currency Press. Other writing includes screenplays for educational films.
Nice capturing of that moment you realise the dream wasn’t real!
Thanks, Barry – often, in relation to dreams, there’s that sudden ‘letdown’ moment.
Love it KD, a vivid exploration of the “unattainable”. Reminds me of the Roy Orbison song, In Dreams. Arcady or Arcadia? Both represent an innate desire for that elusive peace of mind. Cheers
Thanks for the comments, Rick – I’m pleased the poem resonated with you as it did. Arcady or Arcadia? Basically, these are similar words for the same state. I like both, but felt arcady was a better fit for the poem because it had one less syllable – also, I recall a little known F. Scott Fitzgerald ‘Saturday Evening Post’ short story called ‘John Jackson’s Arcady’.