Saturday 31 March 2012
The nightmare
you are running after me
in a never ending circle
a snake, or bear, sometimes shapeless,
faceless but always looming black
timpani drums shake
as you reach for my ankles
then my legs, my arms
enfolding in quicksand tide
helpless, you drool mud over me,
placing seeds of mustard on my tongue
holding me close against coarse cheek,
sinking deep in the muck, i hear your fears
ricocheting,
prickling against my breasts,
bleeding,
running down my thighs
the madness of which you can't speak
the dark thoughts of which you can't escape
becoming m i n e
knotting my fingers in a prayer, gibberish words flowing
i wallow in my sweat, impaled by my sins,
while tangled in white sheets,
you sleep,
breathing easily for the first time
Posted for D'verse Poets Pub: Nightmare Verse hosted by Stu McPherson
Shared with Poets United.
picture credit: here
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Wow, what a journey of intense emotions you take the reader on with these words!
ReplyDeleteNice!
Thanks Mary. Writing on this topic is quite a departure for me.
Deletedang...reading you and hedge back to back has totally creeped me out...haha....ugh the mustard seed on the tongue is a cool kinda unexpected touch...the form also adds to the cachophony of madness....really great piece heaven...
ReplyDeleteThe prompt by Stu is creeping me out ~
DeleteThanks for the visit Brian ~
Scary madness, indeed. Very intense and graphic... enjoyed it!
ReplyDeleteThanks Laurie. I need my pictures to help me write~
DeleteYes, this is very intense Grace. Any type of fear is hard to deal with. Even harder when it's a dream that we dream and we don't know why. Strange you dream of running away. Maybe in your RL you wish you could run away from something?
ReplyDeleteGreat, gripping, read.
I had those running nightmares when I was young. Now, I don't remember anything when I wake up :-)
Deletewords flow with intensity and ease
ReplyDeleteThank you Ashok ~
DeleteThis is GREAT. This isn't just a collection of images- there is an underlying emotion here- raising questions in the last few lines- someone breathing easily for the first time - is it that someone , a loved one has been I'll, or it could even be a child, and in the dream, the mud, the thickening muck, could almost be symptomatic of their condition, and how it is chocking you with anxiety. So very interesting and delicately written- but packing a real visceral punch
ReplyDeleteI never thought of this perspective ~ Thanks for an interesting prompt and challenge ~
Deleteooo nice twist here, Heaven--that ending is excellent. And the images are compelling, stifling, penetrating--all of the above. Thanks for the ticket to your nightmare...I think. ;_)
ReplyDeleteThanks Hedge ~ I think the picture above made the nightmare real for me ~
Deleteoh, that truly is a nightmare, the picture included :)
ReplyDeleteWhat if I told you it was just mud :-0 ?
DeleteI'm a hygiene freak, that would be even scarier :)
Deletethis is like sucking the poison from someone we love who would die instantly otherwise.
ReplyDeleteThat is a nightmare situation ~ Thanks Ed ~
DeleteTHAT was very vivid. *shudders*
ReplyDeleteCreepy, I agree ~
Deletehauntingly glorious!
ReplyDeletevery well done heaven.
Wow! This is seriously creepy and intense!
ReplyDeleteThis gave me stinkin' goosebumps!! Wow! Is it a real dream? You don't have to say but super intense and lots of symbolic imagery in it with the mustard seeds and the gibberish words flowing...truly affecting.
ReplyDeleteTerrific write, Heaven. Frighteningly vivid!
ReplyDeletehttp://charleslmashburn.wordpress.com/2012/03/31/blood-on-the-moon-3/
Creepy indeed just from the pic, your words make it even more so. A slow trip to the insane asylum through madness.
ReplyDeleteThe amazing thing for me is when I ask the question... 'Whose dream is it?' The narrator's? Or the one who sleeps beside her? ...And I do not know the answer. Whew.
ReplyDeleteIntense stuff
ReplyDeleteWonderful reversal--trading peace/place/angst. K.
ReplyDeleteIntense and intriguing, I too enjoyed the twist at the end.
ReplyDeleteCool piece...gritty!
ReplyDeleteWow! Sensuous and gooey all at once.
ReplyDeleteJoy and nightmare mixed, some would say. A great read.
ReplyDeleteloved the metaphors u have used..
ReplyDeleteawesome imagery they have created.. very sensuous expressions Heaven :)
Enjoyed it !!
The eroticism of terror, perfectly captured in this deliciously visceral poem. Delightfully diry in the best possible sense. Loved the picture too.
ReplyDeleteSo creepy & intense...very, very good! :)
ReplyDeleteIntensely conveyed and experienced with such vividness. This dream that fascinates me with its visceral clarity, makes me tremble in its terror, finds ambivalent resolution in the possibility of understanding the terror. Dreams help bond us as community, and that you share such vivid horror promises that the trust we share in life will complete itself in another world as well.
ReplyDeletefascinatingly freudian...superb surge of repressed desires and all the complex clusters of fear desire disgust and guilt rolled into a one awesome whole...and the form chosen was very apt.
ReplyDeletethe interesting thing i find here is the changing sides....the going from one to the next, so that one finds relieve while the other is burdened...
ReplyDeleteYes, that was my intention with this writing. Thank you for catching it.
Deleteintense, truly frightening
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness! As if dealing with our own nightmares wasn't bad enough, having to enter into another person's nightmare as the way to release them from it's terror is a truly frightening idea.
ReplyDeleteVery nicely done. Love the dreamlike atmosphere you paint here. Terrific word choices, especially the action verbs that really command this piece. Great read. Thanks
ReplyDeleteGot my heartbeat quickened just reading this... I've had those dreams of being chased...they're so draining. I sometimes can wake myself up when my dreams become too "involved" for my liking.
ReplyDeleteAmazing dreamscape you have painted with your words. Wonderful to read!
ReplyDeleteImpressive! As I delve deeper into this poetry/writing world (which I too am new) I find myself being inspired to creatively express thoughts and feelings more than just within society's realm. Thank you for being a part of that encouragement. Poetic Darkness http://nicolekigerpoetry.blogspot.com/ has started me on my path. I'm honored to add you.
ReplyDeleteVery intense and very good!
ReplyDeleteAnna :o]
Not a fun dream at all. But extremely vividly told.
ReplyDeleteBut maybe the mud is good for the complexion?
xo
great words from a fertile imagination! excellent write!
ReplyDeleteThere seems to be many out to get us and we keep running. Our legs don't move. We shout but we hear only empty sounds. This is a common occurrence in my nightmarish dreams. Your description gives an accurate impression of what I similarly went through. Great write Heaven!
ReplyDeleteHank
All these images and emotions washed over me as if it was me in there!
ReplyDeleteTruly compelling, Heaven. So excellent.
ReplyDeleteThese are my favorite lines:
knotting my fingers in a prayer, gibberish words flowing
i wallow in my sweat, impaled by my sins,
Wow! Scary and sensual at the same time. Really came into your own (creatively) with this one! Great work, Heaven.
ReplyDeleteAdura xx
i like the gibberish words in prayer
ReplyDeletesemantic feeling
Intense, engaging and very well-written! We can feel the fear pass from one carrier to another.
ReplyDeleteDamn....scary and intense with an electric undercurrent of forbidden sensuality.....thats what happens when you you go into the dark house by yourself at night....lol.
ReplyDelete