Faces

4:30 am I woke with this line in my head- "and faces like flowers float out of the ground".
Before falling asleep the night before, I was visited by the faces that I often see behind my closed eyes while still awake. I welcome this experience when it comes and wish they would stay longer. I don't remember when it began- I guess about 15 years ago. The first to come were the elders, old men with white beards whose faces would come very close and look directly at me. Then they would slowly recede and disappear. "No, come back. Stay.", my mind would call out to them. I wanted them to speak to me. They never did. They were all strangers, but one time I thought I saw the face of my dead brother, Charlie.
After some years I saw the first women. I remember that one of them reached out to touch my face but left before doing so. I did a painting of this. Recently groups have been arriving and seem to be milling about; they make less eye contact with me but seem to be involved with each other. Last night the visitors were children. They had very intense gazes and strong faces.
Once I read a novel in which a woman said- "you know the faces that sometimes come to you before you fall asleep...". that was the first time I heard of another who knew of this. I don't remember the title or the author and I wish I did so I could contact her.
My studio is filled with faces.

After poring over my book of e.e. cummings poetry, I found the line that I woke with.
It begins-
When faces like flowers float out of the ground
And breathing is wishing and wishing is having-
But keeping is downward and doubting and never
-it’s april (yes april;my darling) it’s spring!

And the last verse-
When more than was lost has been found has been found
And having is giving and giving is living-
But keeping is darkness and winter and cringing
-it’s spring (all our night becomes day)o, it’s spring!
All the pretty birds dive to the heart of the sky
All the little fish climb through the mind of the sea
(all the mountains are dancing;are dancing)