By terry
Date: 21 November 2000

Talisman of the Night

Restless beyond any reason I can grasp at the moment
The bed lays hard tonight
Sheets cold
And my pillow feels unyielding, harsh on my cheek.
I know that sleep will be an elusive creature
Fleeing from my reaching psyche as I toss and turn
But when it finally closes in and steals my consciousness as its own
I feel a light sweat break out, sensing something more
Something waiting just below the horizon of my perception,
And no doubt, my heart feels the danger as it speeds up, beating harder
As fear permeates my awareness as it slowly drifts to other realities
And I struggle against the very thing I pursued so desperately
As the first tendril of a nightmare creeps into my mind
Wrapping tight around my throat
Freezing vocal chords and tongue into an unusable mass
As my mouth dries suddenly, taste of cotton batting tinged with old copper.
The dark descends across my spirit and mind
As bad things come forth and seek dominion
Dragging my soul down
Screaming
Fighting a losing battle of old, but fighting anyway.
Determined to never go willingly.


And it is your memory that will save me again tonight
As I hold tight to your image
And you become a lifeline that will anchor my soul to the white
And to you
And as the night creeps by silently
Like a shark cutting the waters of the deep
Silent but deadly
Swift but dangerous.
I find my heart safe
Wrapped in you
Wrapped in your love
Where nothing can touch me
Save that which you have ordained.
Safe, secure, satisfied, sanctified in you; in your abiding love.
Safe in the night, wrapped in the white of true love.



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