Slumber slips on evening’s footfall
as daylight takes to her bed.
You close your eyes on the night.
But Disquiet seizes stillness by the throat,
snarling yellow teeth bared,
its claws, like grappling hooks,
grab you from sleep and you
bolt awake, eye lids a-twitch
with stinging light and sibilant sounds
from underground.
Dread, Overwhelm and Terror
stroll in through psyche’s door.
They howl, they hiss; sling
stinking bones and rotten remains;
tattoo your shoes with yellow bruises.
You tussle in ceaseless scuffle
with dream lurkers dressed in shadow.
Until a seam appears …
a glimmer of dark light;
a first crack in the Portal.
You turn your face toward the dim warmth
of pale sun, clear the bitter taste
of battle from parched lips
with a kiss of cider ale —
and step across the veil.