Nightmares

I can't forget the time I spent Putting out the fires Though I try my best, I never do No matter my desire I go to sleep and try to think Of nothing but my wife But I lie in bed, and live again The chaos of my life My shoulder aches, and I return To the night upon the ladder Suddenly it slips, and I grab ahold Of a lightpost I had straddled From on the roof, four hands appear Grab me by the arm They pull me up and though I feel the pain They keep me safe from harm So I roll over and change positions To try to continue sleeping But now my knee begins to ache And I picture myself creeping As I crawl along a smoky corridor I fall through a hole in the floor As I begin to hurtle into the abyss I’m not in control anymore But just in time, a brother saves me By lunging onto my knee He keeps me from falling into the pit And drags me up, I'm free Once again I moan, and try to find A comfortable spot on the bed As I finally begin to drift asleep I see visions in my head I see a baby with her face chewed off Another under a truck A young man crushed in an elevator Where he had gotten stuck I picture a family dead on the stairs Who had tied to get out A baby pulled lifeless from his room And I hear his mother shout I wake up sweating, get out of bed And pour myself a drink Take some pills and wash them down While standing by the sink After a moment, the shaking subsides And I'm ready to try again As I pull the covers over my head I try to shut down my brain It works for awhile, but then I feel A throbbing in my neck And once again, I'm back in time To a night I'd rather forget Every night, it's always the same As soon as I go to bed It seems the pain I feel in my body Triggers the pain in my head