At midnight.
While you lay sweetly dreaming
A cocoon of safety descends
Shielding you from the fight
As the demons come to call again.
Vulnerable
In my bedroom arena
Blankets and pillows clutched tight
The means at which I used to hide
When but six years and frightened
Shaking under the coverlet
Muffled sobs sink into pillows plush
As the cackles climb to hysteric pitch.
"Don't hurt me!" Teddy bear in desperate grip.
And the demons lurked around the room
Until the nightmare ends.
And I would fall asleep, exhausted
Just when the sun began it's climb.
But now.
At midnight.
The demons come calling still
They whisper my name softly
In cold breath moist with my fears.
They know me so well
But I've got sword
They've never seen before
And with steady hands
And a new skill found
I learn to write the demons away.
Their voices receeding
Their shadows fading fast
As I fall into my poem
As I fall into deep sleep.
Peace at last.
E