the donkey dream

I'd wake up screaming every night
to protect me from the donkey dream 
if that was how it worked at all. 

It isn't, though, as we have seen.

You'll lie there, dreaming normally 
when suddenly, off to the side 
the donkey's there. No argument.
Too real to move, or tame, or ride. 

So when you wake, you'll scrape
your conscience patiently; subconscious,
too. Dig. Root around to find: What put
that donkey here? What does it mean?

Is it a sign? Or is the donkey
you