Gridlock- A Dream Within a Dream by Edgar Allan Poe

Title (of poem means)	If what we think is real is a dream and what is a dream is actually real.
Paraphrase (parts of the poem)	"And I hold within my hand Grains of the golden sand- How few! yet how they creep Through my fingers to the deep, While I weep- while I weep! O God! can I not grasp Them with a tighter clasp? O God! can I not save One from the pitiless wave?" He is describing how few grains of sand there are in his hand yet it seems like there is an endless amount of them and he cannot hold every single one.
Connotation (of some of the words – changing literal meaning to implied or associated values)	"O God! can I not save one from the pitiless wave?" He means not literally "save" the grains of sand from a wave. He means can he hold every single grain of sand before the water washes it away.
Attitude (What is the attitude of the author, characters or yourself?)	The attitude is pondering and questioning.
Shift (At first we think or feel one way – then there is a shift: identify the shifts and explain them)	The big shift is between the two stanzas. The first is describing the sweetness of being in a dream within a dream while the second is describing the horror and frustration the author seems to have trying to tell what is real or not.
Title Revisited (Any new insights on meaning or significance of title?)	It's hard to tell a dream from reality.
Theme	No matter how hard we try to hold on to something or someone we love, they eventually start slipping through our fingers.