A dream put on wait may "dry out like a raisin in the sun," according to the poem. A dried, rigid raisin is the sensory polar opposite of what it once was: a juicy, thirst-quenching green or red grape. So perhaps dreams that we struggle with feeling satisfied with are like dry, deadened raisins. The phrase comes from a popular medieval French poem called The Raising of Lazarus by Saint John Damascene. It's based on a story in Jesus' life that occurred during his time on Earth. In this story, a rich man dies and is brought back to life by Jesus. During his revival, the man gives thanks to God and tells him he has enough faith to be raised from the dead. Then Jesus asks him why he didn't have faith when he was alive. The rich man replies that he had many possessions but no water to drink so he could not pray or have faith. This imagery is then used by Damascene to explain that although God loves us very much, if we lack hope, it is hard for him to heal us. There are other theories about how the phrase came about. One theory says that it is because when grapes are drying on the vine, they often become flat like coins. This would make them similar to dreams when they are unable to retain their original shape.