I Dreamed

I dreamed I was visiting a sculptor friend. I was wearing a long brown skirt and I was standing outside. I noticed the bottom of my skirt was burning. It had caught fire from a nearby candle. I was alarmed but managed to stop the burning by dipping my flaming hem into a pail of water. My friend asked me if I would like to meet his friends from the Dominican Republic. Three people with exquisitely black skin showed up and sat in aluminum beach chairs. They were each wearing a small live alligator on top of their heads. Then it was a party and I saw a friend of mine lift her four-year-old daughter up by her two long braids. I thought, oh no! She's living through her daughter!