For three consecutive nights, I’ve had disturbing, ominous nightmares.

I’m a very happy, upbeat person by nature and I currently have no major stress in my life, so I’m not sure what the cause of these midnight hallucinations might be. I’ve often been told that when you dream of painful or dark things, it often means the opposite is occurring in your everyday life. I sure hope so, because these dreams have been downright haunting.

In fact, I’ve found myself hesitant to sleep, fearful of the nightmares that await.

One dream was so vivid, it lingered with me all day. I struggled with it for so long, I found myself desirous to write a poem in the hopes of “getting the demons out” just to refocus on my day.

Since I have no intention of doing anything with this poem in terms of publication (I would hate to become known for my dark work, which is not representative of who I am as a person), I thought I’d share it here.

It’s very rough – I chose not to edit it in any way – and reads more like a word association/free-flow versus a poem, but it is what it is.

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Gestation

coiling in my womb,

it nudges

ramming its serpentine head

into the soft cartilage

of my ribs.

my child,

slithering under the viscous membrane,

swaddled in amnion,

biding time until escape.

he senses my fear,

the product of lust and lies

promising to bring truth to light.

can you love that which hates you in its creation?

it sheds its skin among the ovaries

scarring the path of the intended

ensuring his slithering whispers

will be only heard by maternal ears.

will I love that which threatens my profligacy?

my child,

encased in flesh and bone,

yet ever cold-blooded,

plots the nature of requital.

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I’m optimistic for a good night’s sleep tonight – no nightmares, please!

~ Victoria Elizabeth