Night Terrors

by: Johnny Slate

I awoke to kill my silent monster
Just in time to catch dawn's light fingers
Stealing over the horizon,
Pushing the darkness out of my room
To the far corners of the earth
And the palm of the sun
Washed away pervasive dreams.

When I was a kid,
I would huddle beneath a blanket
And clutch the linens over my head
To hide from the dark,
But no black comforter
Will draw me protective shadows
While natures needles accuse my skin
And my nightly terrors come from within.