shadows are running
breaking bones under foot.
arm twisting branches snap
smearing their scent on contact.
resin oozes as blood,
the pungent sap tickles my nose hairs.
a rustling voice whispers movement.
the fresh earthen breath kisses mine.
my eyes peer into the hidden darkness
as I start peeling the shadows, but
stop my curiosity from going further.
crepuscular rays slice into the woods
verifying our little girl’s nightmares.
grandma’s kiss on my forehead
sets me upright, in bewilderment.
.
wool
twill weave
cardiganz
harem pants
boots
hoodiez
aran coats
dents
I had a dream the other night
that had me smiling with delight:
A couple with their backs to me
were taking vows of holy matrimony.
My delight turned to suspicion, for lo!
for the minister presiding was Waldo
Emerson? Then the couple in solemn tone
said “I do” pledging their love to each alone,
as they turned to face the congregation
applauding with joyous acclamation.
That’s when I recognized the bride
as none other than Amheart’s pride
Emily Dickinson, the eccentric
poet-spinster, the groom the pseudo rustic
Henry David Thoreau, of Walden Pond!
But even the best of unions are not beyond
the paranormal. And when he took her
to his self-built “mansion”,on seeing it
she grew pale and pleaded loudly in a fit:
Take me back to my father’s house this night
there’ll be no wild nights in this shack tonight!
Uncle "Nightmare" Sam Says...
Tonight's the Night I Slash your Dreams,
Daylight Madness and Midnight Screams!
No Bells of Mercy Will be Tolled,
Your Screams to Me, Worth More than Gold!
I'll Haunt Your Dreams, to Scratch My Itches,
Till Tomorrow Night...Hugs and Stitches!
What ruse is so effective
that someone blatantly perverse
can succeed all so easily
to convince one after the other
to give it all up
to trade in their integrity
to renege on their values
to turn their back on any moral compass
to literally sell their soul to the devil
And… have the gall to walk among us
still with their head held high ?
Seems like we’ve entered an alternate reality
beyond the stretch of imagination
where nightmares are the new norm.
AP: Honorable Mention 2025
Gleaming diamonds that dot the skies
Peering through the night with trillions of eyes
Behind crescent smiles, you wink a distant threat
Oh, faceless gaze, how I wonder what you're looking at
You come with shrouds that cloak our sun
As hellfire burn behind the black you've spun
You weave the constellations like gossamer webs
While in wide-eyed wonder, we meander into your nets
Travelers crossing the night have leaned on you so
For your twinkling fingers point which way to go
But as your blinking orbs appraise their every move
You chart our world—every corner, every groove
Trillions of eyes cut across the darkness deep
Tendrils of light rain upon us while we sleep
While crescent grimace whisper into our dreams
Oh, twinkle, twinkle, draw us closer into your seams
As the world unfurls
iN REMbrandt's muddy pastel
Little Susie curls her knees
right on cue, credence that
there's clear water here, a
revival of Hawkins and
Burton's swamp spell
When I tried to leave her
dream, she called back:
'Freddy, come save me'
I know that it's cruel to
replace her, though her
night terrors are negotiated,
I awaken her fears
Seeping and crawling came my fear.
I couldn’t see it very clear.
Tension mounting as it came near,
Transforming it into a tear.
Anxiously waiting, couldn’t hear,
My eyes were staring with a leer.
Then I felt it, it seemed so clear.
Arriving quickly, it was here.
Shimmering, I felt it unfold.
Negative thoughts had taken hold.
Anguish entered into the fold.
I’ll get the light; I must be bold.
What has given me such a scare?
Just another stupid nightmare.
In the mere blink of a nightmare, I found myself rechained
and trapped where my peace of mind had once before
collapsed.
The die has been cast, an old challenge from the past, one
I thought long ago smashed, has incited another battle and
painfully thrashed my peace of mind like collateral damage
to aloofly leave behind.
It’s twenty-seven years later, and I’m altogether strength-wise
lesser for this matter. I’ve got mighty prayers but the sum-total
of tassels for the best in life have battered and frayed my energy.
It is retired and at rest, not lying in wait for another day or test.
Now, I’ve no choice but to fake it, declare it is just hiding and
there’s no abiding such when it's time for fighting.
I know I screamed denial, felt a heavy weight disintegrate all
to black. I remember holding him, sharing a crying jag while
watching my peace of mind pack.
My very heart, my special needs son, now full grown and still
at home, woke me in the night in a state of fright, “Mama, I
think I just had a seizure.” The next day came four more and
my peace of mind took its suitcase out the door.
As my body shakes violently,
In the midst of sound sleep;
Naked and alone
Lying on the cold concrete...
This reality of my nightmare,
I DREAM...
Of A Confused Nightmare Dream
(A Thought Provoking Tanka Trio)
Is sleeping dreamless,
Short-lived life’s resurrection,
Or death’s fantasy?
Can living fake its own death
In confusing nightmare dreams?
I thought I was dead.
Do the dead have dreams of life
Or just it’s nightmares?
Irrespective of it all,
It all seems so confusing:-
In life’s awareness,
Sleep can be as confusing,
As “the living dead”:
Is it possible for a dead mind
To have living thoughts like these?
Dark
shapes
twist and
crawl in the
corners of my
mind. Silent
whispers fill
the air, cold
and choking.
A breath
catches, then
slips away as
I reach for the
light that’s too
far to touch.
Eyes watch
from the
depths of the
void. I can’t
move, can’t
scream. I'm
trapped inside
the suffocating
storm of my
own fear, lost
in a place where
shadows never
leave and hope
fades to dark.
Eye's closed fast asleep in a nightmare I am breathing deep
Decending spinning never hitting the ground
I am trying to Scream but I'm making no sound.
Voices that taunt me they come from my past
I can't see their faces as I am Falling to fast
I reach out for something to help stop my fall
I grab in to the darkness but there is nothing at all
When will my time come and I hit the floor
must I awake from my sleep then I will fall no more
Myriad of wired scenes consumes me
Stained by Hades , shadows lurk
Within a lunar widescreen of a dream---
Voices raking with madness...lost
On phosphorus wisp of evening
Despite frail light in the shade-
Bleak visions cascade on damp floor
Ghastly these shadows crawling
Through serpentine weaves , as if
To pluck my soul, their angst unreleased:
I slither into deeper caves of dreams
Rummaging my last trails of grace,
My faith begging for prayers to lilt...
Until my body wakes, rocking gently
Changing macabre hours into twirls
Of calm, a behest from morning god
While I finally slay my own ghosts.
1st place
In my dream the deception was deep,
This girl was healed through the enemy,
And everyone believed that this healing came from God,
She was showing proof that her sickness was gone,
She was passing around a rope that was plated in the middle with gold,
But the rest of the rope looked rugged and old,
I knew it looked strange as she passed it around,
As if she was endorsing others to use this rope she had found,
She said she placed it around her neck and God healed her instantly,
And I heard God whisper don't touch it, the rope is the disease,
He spoke to me clearly and went on to explain,
The rope is a trick and a noose to kill others this way,
The healing was sorcery to draw in more souls,
Used for the enemy to kill in number..he also tricked the girls soul.
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