i-Dream

I awoke with an image—
I was shackled to an I.
A horizontal I
lying like a crossbar.
I was attached by a chain,
or a large looped-lock.

I wasn’t sure if I was instructing myself to do this,
or warning myself of a danger,
a thing I should avoid.

There is no escaping our I.
We inhabit it.
We are it.
Are we inevitably shackled to it?

Typographically the dream I had endcaps.
A nice Times New Roman,
with its hat and shoes
offering obstruction.
But a sans serif I
removes the potential for shackling,
allowing easy escape.

So perhaps there is a difference
as to whether you consider yourself
a serif or a sans serif I.

No matter the font choice,
you can’t shackle yourself
to a lower case i—
the gap between body and head
a space for flight.

Afterthought

The I in this dream was based on the wonderfully surreal 1971 Sesame Street song by Steve Zuckerman, “Capital I”.