Night Terrors Poem by Ryan Brodesser

When the sky grows dark after days on eve


Twisted shadows start to seeth


After night, the lurk the halls


And appear as frightening images on the walls


Do we image such a terrible foe?


In our sleep clad eyes senses running slow?


And as we clench our hands with fear,


Of a possible death lurking near


Our mind plays tricks and the shadows dance


Fear cocktails our mind within a fearful trance.


There is no rest until the sun rises anew


There is no sleep until the light glints off the morning dew



What is it then that lights our souls with dread?


Past demons come, or perhaps the whispers of the dead?


On the come to claw through open windows or seep through floors


Gliding unseen past locked and bolted doors


And as we ride the glittering highway of visions where no time flies


Through soft relaxed and shuttered eyes


So that while you sleep with a mind of stone


The shadow creeps outside in dark alone


Then it breaths, and out comes a rancid reek


And your beautiful dream gargles into a horrified shriek


You shoot up tight, heart pounding in nauseated fear


Of the evil that seems constantly near