Nightmare

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Today, I woke up shivering with cold

Left inside me was nothing but despair

My soul was robbed of all that’s strong and bold

Since I was visited by the most hideous nightmare

 

The next night I lay in bed, my eyes open wide

As Hypnos and I played hide and seek

I tried to evade him, but he wanted me for his bride

Suddenly, I felt something tap on my shoulder …

And a dark voice began to speak

 

‘Turn around, wretched soul, don’t hide your face!

Look me in the eyes, despair, then break down and cry!

You’ll never escape me, for I’ll always give chase

From now on and always till the day you die!’

 

And a nameless terror crept into my heart

Was it time to say goodbye?

 

I felt a growing chill deep in my bones

The night terror hissed in, oh, so many tones

Not one voice, but many! that came from its throat

I didn’t turn around, I daren’t turn around

For behind me, I felt a hiss before it finally smote

 

But before it struck, a sudden thought pervaded every corner of my feverish mind

Hey, turn around, don’t hide, look it in the eye, or are you blind?

 

‘No!’ I cried in anguish, ‘I am not blind

Neither am I deaf, nor mute nor any of the kind

It’s just this fear I sense deep in my heart

This terrible feeling that soon I will part.’

 

A deep sadness … unspeakable and buried beneath

My cheerful mask – like a sword in its sheath

Yes, I’m scared and confused and terrified at the thought

That my parting will be unnoticed … unfought

 

Who will weep for me? Who will miss the length of my hair?

Who will think of me once in a while? Who will care?

Oh, I know … yes, I know – it’s not my place to make a demand

And it just shows how lonely in this world I really stand

 

And finally, now do I understand: This nightmare of mine

Was nothing but a mirror of my own demons – fine!

So, no more running, no hiding

No fleeing, no crying

 

I turned around to face my worst nightmare

And was greeted by a creature uglier than I could bear

Still, I held my head high, frowning – defying the beast

I’d give it a fight, not caring, not afraid in the least

 

So there we were, staring at each other … what the deuce!

I wouldn’t back down, no! even if hell broke loose

This nightmare of mine must have seen my determination

I sensed it, I felt it … this hideous beast’s agitation

 

Suddenly my inner strength grew fast in direct proportion

To the features of my fiend that started showing distortion

Until, finally, it lost all countenance and expression

Till it was bare of power, of might, and of all aggression

 

And so …

The beast fell to its knees, disbanded, and faded away

Just like the dark shadows of a silly nightmare on a beautiful day

 

The End 

 🎃 🎃 🎃

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