Sometimes it seems
like nothing but a dream
only nightmares never frighten me like this
in the dark
alone
in the distance
a light
I seek to see
when suddenly
hungry hands have me
pulling down
I fall
and call out
without hesitation
or expectation of rescue
from those who
I do not know.
My writhing
wrings out roars
but from the black sky soars
a ravenous raven
feasting on the meat
of my eyes.
Now blind
I find I understand
his demands
clear as words.
It’s you who choose
to lose your sight
for straying too close to the harsh daylight.
Here you’re stuck and here you’ll stay
We love you now you’ll never stray.
The lie is
short-lived
for ears still hear
the warming earth,
my face still feels
a fragment of warmth,
the nose knows
light's singing burn,
and my tongue can taste
the air’s acrid burn,
If these were not enough for me
my eyes retain their memory
of light
so I fight
with force too fierce
to be denied
I rise and run
become one
with the sun . . .
which sets
as soon as I'm there.
Raychel
Vanderhoff
Approx. August 1997
