'E surdate

'E surdate, the soldiers. In the Smorfia they’re plural, and that’s what matters: not the soldier as hero, but the line of people marching together, all alike, all in step. Twelve speaks of discipline and duty — and in Naples, where discipline is a respected virtue that’s also eyed a little sideways, this number always carries a pinch of irony. In dreams, twelve shows up when an obligation is involved. A job that asks you to stay in line, a rule to follow even if you don’t agree with it, a promise made that has to be kept. It can be pride — “I did it, period” — or weariness, the weariness of someone who feels their pace being set by someone else. The images that lead here are the soldier and the tree, and together they say more than it seems. The tree is what stays standing where it was planted, whatever the weather. Anyone who obeys, sooner or later, looks around and wonders whether that place still suits them. The Smorfia pairs images by likeness of gesture, and here the gesture is the same — standing straight. Twelve doesn’t say whether to obey or to raise your head. It points out that in your dream there was a line to hold, and that holding it has a cost and a value. Both things together, as almost always around here.