The Raven and the Stormcrow

Raven's dream

I was walking up a straight concrete road, as wide as Commonwealth but without the middle island. It was clean, but there were no other people or cars as far as my eye could see. Presently I found myself wading knee-deep in black oil. The oil came from one of those standard oil trucks, but this one was lying on its side, a huge rent could be seen in its tank. I didn't know why I was walking in the oil spill, but I was.

I walked past the truck and suddenly found my dad standing in the oil spill up ahead, looking at me intensely. He was telling me to go back the way I came from, gesturing me with his hands, as if shooing me back. I was horrified to see that he had a cigarette in his mouth, the cig bobbing up and down as he was talking, ash dropping down from the tip. I couldn't seem to concentrate on anything else but that cigarette, and I had terrible visions of fire and explosions dancing in my eyes. And I was standing in the oil spill!

Suddenly I realized my situation, and quickly reversed my direction. I tried as hard as I could to hurry back, but for some reason the oil had the consistency of sticky sludge. It was grabbing me and impeding my progress, and I found myself in a ghastly parody of a run.


Stormcrow's interpretation

When I hear of a road like this one, the fast answer is that it represents a path, your journey through life, and so on. As good a driver (ahem) as she is, it's not surprising that she uses a lot of roadway imagery.

There is an oil spill on the road. This represents disaster: some trouble or concern. (Note how the rent oil tanker is similar to a broken tower) And, Raven is in the middle of it. In particular, I know that Raven is concerned about her career, so the road is probably her career path.

Then Raven sees her father, representing... her father. He tries to wave at her to turn her back. Like Marley's Ghost, he is warning her about what will happen if she continues her current path. Which sorta makes sense, since Raven is a teacher, like her father.

The cigarette: more impending disaster. Not only is Raven in trouble, but she has time pressure on her. She's worried about losing precious years of her youth on teaching, and is perhaps concerned about her chances at job hunting as time passes.

The sludge: the grasp of her old career. It's sticky, unlike oil... the meaning has taken over the imagery. She finds it hard to leave her old career, though this is probably just inertia.

Labels: work