stressed cotton gripped,
lithograph shapes move
incoherent blemishes
caught by tired eye,
already a haven
checked by those who love,
yet still cold
comes to linger as an
unwelcome friend,
that closet door moves
with slow intent,
tomorrow a long voyage away
and the captain is
losing the wheel,
wanting to send up flares
light kerosene lamps,
to see
bedroom ocean
hindered by furry forms
that sulk in masses,
stories stringed words
hung across the mind
cranial denial,
cotton scrapes
a loose floorboard resonates
without help
from human form,
as captain he needs a crew,
crew of rag and plastic
to his call they rally
corners become embattled
cotton pushed aside,
sails on pine vessel,
beneath the night
a warrior born
clouds of gods look down,
moon casts a charming glow,
a battle cry
loud inside a voice parents
can never here,
on deck face splashed
by waves of memory,
wheel in his grasp
volley and surge
crackled into the night
with electric interference,
lips once moist
with mothers milk
now bloodied call proud,
monsters fled
lines defiled and beaten
each rushing over the fallen,
he would not be wounded
he would not falter,
time a soft blanket
on which he tiredly fell
sleep devoured
and all this would be
a satisfying memory by morning,
but not the claw embedded
in bedroom wall
I think I just went into a the stormy seas and came back with a kerosene lamp.
Hectic emotions.
Thank you Lila
Brilliantly frightening. Makes me think of those monsters in my bedroom as a kid. They came in all forms.
Thanks Linda we all had them and the creaking sounds
Eek..freaky ending!
Thanks Katy glad you called on by
Claw – 1st time reader – some lines just pop and the one that did for me (there were several) but I loved cranial denial – the last 2 obviously clinched it all – Well done and thank you.
Glad you visited and wonderful to see you here all the best
Well constructed. and yes, all dreams and nightmares have an element of real – often more than we are prepared to admit or know.
as we get older sometimes those dreams take on another meaning
Love your title, drew me in right away!
thank you big smiles to you
The ending was very good, with the claw embedded in the wall ~ Sleep devoured the sleeper ~
Good one ~
Thanks Grace and hope all is well
As captain he needs a crew, crew of rag and plastic. This line sent me back to when I was little and would line my stuffed animals around me in bed to help me fight off any monsters. effective and well written.
Thanks Heidi sometimes our toys i mean friends are needed to protect us and thanks for visiting big smiles to you
ha great closing image….the claw in the wall…
that evidence that maybe our nightmares
are more real than we think…smiles.
Thanks Brian i always like to think the nightmares i had as a kid had an element of real in them
I think that’s probably true, as our brains are trying to alert ourselves to something an a mixed up kind of way.
the mind works in mysterious ways