The Night Hunter Poem by Ollie Slaney

Once upon a lucid dream,
I saw a man that seemed to grow,
And though I'm sure in flesh I'd seen
A man, he seemed to melt like snow.

And then he came again, and back
But closer, clearer, moving slow.
He opened his mouth and all went black
And numb, lest for a chilly glow.

The glow did form a little shape,
Resembling the darkened figure
And so i lay, afraid to wake,
In fear he'd re-appear, but bigger.

My eyelids must of flickered light,
Because the shape did start to shift,
And spots did grow and twist and fight,
Like microbes in a petri dish.

And out of all these writhing forms,
I lay aghast and in dismay
To see out of the darkness, spawn
The Night Hunter, as clear as day.

I tried to turn and run away,
But found that i was paralysed,
And before he looked my way,
I searched in vain to be disguised.

Alas! I could not find escape,
And as my limbs would not release
My heart ran at a frightful pace,
So little time to make my peace!

Then the shadow turned around,
And looked with piercing eyes at me,
I seemed to scream without a sound,
Those swirling eyes of red and green.

Violently, he shook a head,
Which now, not man, was wild beast,
My stomach lurched and dropped like lead,
But still my limbs would not release

And now half lion, half blob recoiled,
And, spitting sparks it bared its teeth,
And whirling snakes of blue and red,
Did seem to curl into the deep.

The monster, wailing, sprang at me,
Now spectre, ghost it floated forth
But not with peace, and I asleep,
Could not break free, but taste its wrath.

It flew and flew and grew and grew,
And spun around my startled head,
And faster, faster, closer too,
A kaleidoscope of green and red,

Yet I am not quite yet of age,
To be consumed without a fight,
And using all my might, I raged
Against this Hunter of the Night.

The raging seemed to take an age,
And still the Hunter, seething, pressed!
At least I tried to break the cage
I thought, and began to accept

That maybe it was time to rest,
Be taken by eternity,
But one small part still tried its best,
One final push to set me free.

Suddenly the sun burst in,
And light did flood and douse the flames,
Of black and blobby shapes and things
That haunt. The world came back again!

I'm glad to say they strove in vain,
And I survived, to tell a tale
Of things that lurk beyond the sane,
The master of my own betrayal.

For it seems these things that i did see,
Were all the mischief of my mind,
The place I fought and longed to flee,
Was the place that hides behind closed eyes.