The Book of Disquiet, text 54

Tokyo Undressed

The most contemptible thing about dreams is that everyone has them. In the dark, the errand boy dozes away the day as he leans against the lamp post in the intervals between chores, immersed in thoughts about something or other. I know what he's daydreaming about: the same dreams I plunge into between entries in the summer tedium of the utterly still, silent office.

Text 54

I don't see anything contemptible in the shared quality of dreams. We're all rulers of our heads, at least in theory, and there's reason to feel that someone else's sovereignty in any way detracts from your own.

Had a student come to class today with a low cut top, a push-up bra and plenty to put inside. It was distracting, so I kept trying to avoid her side of the room, but it was like a loose tooth that will nag until you poke it.

Tom Waits says you're innocent when you dream, but I don't know if that holds for daydreams.

I'm innocent until then.

Buy Frank's Wild Years by Tom Waits.
Buy The Book of Disquiet.