While King Kong had the Empire State building,
Kitty Kat reigned over the train yards
striking terror in everyone crossing her path.
With bated breath, we hoped and waited
for some superhero to appear and save the day.
AP: 3rd place 2026
Nightmares driving me insane subconscious images are invading my brain
As I sleep constantly fighting my dreams
Silent on the outside no-one hears my screams
Sheet soaked with sweat mixed with my tears
My dreams seem to bring to me all my fears
Tossing and turning awakening with a start
The darkness loudly echoes the beat of my heart
Nightmares of monsters nightmares of pain the same nightmare that comes again and again
The nightmare is over as night turns to day
The sunlight takes the monsters away
As the day goes by I'm filled with dread
Because the nightmares are waiting for me in my head
Sweet Mother Marrow flies
in through the pane,
With dust made of shadows
and liquid of bane.
She gives you a gown that is
woven from spite,
And slippers of glass that
pinch extra tight.
She smiles with a grin full of
needles and pins,
And laughs in the dark when
the nightmare begins.
Her magic wand splinters
and curdles the milk,
As she wraps up your
dreams in a shroud of black
silk.
So cover your ears when she
hums her sweet chime,
For this godmother loves to
run out of your time.
The air in the basement archives
tasted of rotted velvet and wet
copper.
A low, wet breathing synchronized
perfectly with the rhythm of your
own pulse.
Skin-bound ledgers bled dark,
viscous oil onto the warped oak
on the floorboards.
The whispers began, raspy
and toothless chanting your
true name from the shadows.
You looked down to find your
own fingers drying, flattering,
and turning into yellowed
parchment.
The emergency exit signs bled
into a deep, sickening crimson
that cast no light.
Something tall, loose- limbed,
and blind crawled upside down
across the ceiling timbers.
Every exit had vanished, replaced
by endless, towering stacks of
blank, waiting tombstones.
Needle-sharp, paper -thin claws
drove deep into your shoulders
from behind.
The entity peeled back your chest
to index your beating heart under
CLASSIFIED!.
My dreams turned into nightmares
The soul’s cloak to take
Intertwined manifestations
I can no longer escape
The soul’s cloak to take
A misguided route of fate
Intertwined manifestations
Brings you closer to the date
A misguided route of fate
Suits with crooked ties
Brings you closer to the date
Subtle mind control clouds the mind
Suits with crooked ties
Brings you nothing but unwarranted lies
Subtle mind control clouds the mind
How do I return to the innocence of sunrise
Brings you nothing but unwarranted lies
My dreams turned into nightmares
How do I return to the innocence of sunrise
Intertwined manifestations
I let my alarm, screaming
Bestow gleaming through the window
And singing, threw my vision to the glow
The shadows streaming
Slowly feeling all their soul
Have a taste of lonely and bitter as a whole
And breathing
Is all their meaning of the day
But awake, is a hug now, keeping bliss whom sleeping, then will slay
I have nightmares, actual nightmares
About me, stuck in my childhood
About ghosts and people who didn't try as hard as they could.
I will myself, to wake up in between the snares
That grips my eyes, my heart
The worst part
I force myself to wake up
My brain thinks there is someone beside me who'll comfort me, hold me.
Who will pick me up
And console me
But when I open my eyes
I struggle to remember where I am
I struggle to remember that there is no one
Hasn't been since the farewells and the goodbyes.
“The future depends on what you do today.” Mahatma Gandhi
The past is the mother of the present,
So is the present for the future.
Both good and bad, we inherit
From our predecessors normally.
Their wrongdoings, as nightmares
Haunt us like anything for generations.
With pride, their virtues, we follow
Projecting our chests forward.
Let’s be conscious of what we do today
In order to build a castle of tomorrow.
Let’s take an oath on this occasion
To safeguard it from crumbling down.
‘As you sow, so shall you reap’
Should be our sole motto.
Positively Preposterous Puckheads...STILL!!!
Boy! They sure don't drive no Coupe DeVille.
My wife dragged me here against my will,
I just, Touched Down! in Palookaville!
Her Uncle Buck, buck-teethed and busted bunions,
Always smelled just a bit like onions.
He'd cuss me out while eating Funyuns!
Yep, that Codger's one big Curmudgeon!
Aunt Tildy, wore garters with lace tassels,
Bought lavender soap by the passels!
Had dreams of Knights at White Castles,
And she tells my wife, I'M the ASSLE!
Cousin Clem, I call him "Phlegm," ain't right in the head!
He's thirty-five! and still wets the bed!
And his folks still wonder why he's not wed!
I don't care what that Doctor Phil said!
Last, but not least, is that beast they call Boo!
That cur must be older than...Twenty-Two!
And bowels!...Man, that mutt sure could poo!
As luck would have it...he spackled my shoe!
Damn! Sun's setting, they're sweating, and I'm stuck here...STILL!!!
Oh Lord, please send me that Coupe DeVille!
I might as well start writing my will!
There's "Nightmares Galore" here in Palookaville!
Sometimes I’m so afraid
the images fluding my brain
They won’t go away if I close my eyes or stay awake
tempers flare in high winds
the sea roars in anger
heavy rains pelt down
waves rise to the occasion
after much ado and
with visible reluctance
the sky begins to clear
stars bestow their calmness
while the weary moon looks on
AP: 1st place 2025, 2nd place 2026
Have to keep the door closed
(after that midnight treat)
The coyote or wolf far off
(too close)
Can’t remember the plot
(salsa has tightened its grip)
upon awakening
(not at all sure of that)
the widening of the dark
I open the door slowly
to the shadows
(a strange light and likeness)
The wild animal is scarier
enclosed, inhibited
(it tears at my throat, claws
my innards - from a distance)
The pillow next to me
has no face or hair
(hope he’s living
downstairs!)
I need his warmth, his touch
(I’m shivering cold)
ALL THE LIGHTS GO ON
the bathroom
the sink
the bedroom
the hallway
the living room
the stairs
He’s there, in his chair
I tell him I need him
He says he will be along
shortly, so
I remain, reading
in my recliner
shortly waiting
then the warming begins
side to side
his hand over mine
a warmer blanket
after midnight the wolf
will wait to attack
and with waiting
he satisfies his appetite
I’m still cold at midday
but my fears sleep
Dare to be Rare,
Compare Nowhere,
It's okay if they Stare.
Is there anybody there?
Is there anyone anywhere?
Is there anything you wish to share?
I tried looking elsewhere,
They didn't seem to care,
It didn't seem fair.
A dream or nightmare,
Peering through a blank stare,
Unaware, I see the masks they wear.
Dare to be rare,
Compare nowhere,
Time has come to be a pair.
We are everything,
Everywhere,
We are everybody breathing air,
We declare an end to the despair.
We are sorry for the cross you bare,
The dreams that gave quite a scare,
We needed you to be aware.
We needed you to really care,
To repair the tare somewhere,
Caused by psychological warfare.
Dare to be rare,
Compare nowhere,
Life is a love affair.
I hate having bad dreams,
They can taunt you and torture you,
Scare you and male you scream,
There are many more things they can also do,
Like hurt you, harm you,
Make you cry out in pain,
You can do things in them you would never do,
Like murdering people and constantly being left with a blood stain,
Bad dreams aren’t just bad dreams, they’re nightmares.
PTSD
massive explosion
fireball lights up the dark sky
screams for the medic
cries for mother
torn bodies lying at my feet
snap and pop of burning ammo assaults my ears
smell of burnt flesh fresh in my nose
I am frozen in place, I can’t help anyone,
my mouth moves but I can’t speak
I alone am left alive.
I awake in my bed, trembling and sobbing
sweat running in torrents down my body
my hands shaking.
All tell me I am lucky
to be the only survivor.
I am helpless, lost and alone
no one understands.
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