Friday, January 24, 2014

The Illusion of Reality



Jerking into a state of alert
His environment too familiar to be known
He fists his hands in reflexive defense         
Intuitively grasping air that feels so tangible
Alarmed, he begins to retreat
Mouth agape and heart thudding against worn ribs
He makes to distance himself from this strangely serene place
His pace, significantly slower than his neurons command
Confusion pours over him as his sweat hits the ceiling
Attempts at rationalizing prove futile
There is no accounting this experience
Still retreating, he sees that outline he has come to know
This spice of his life
The love of his world
Inching towards him in a fluid movement
His lips turn downward, defying the impulse to smile
An uncontrollable panic erupts in his chest as she nears
Unwilling to understand this contradictory feeling
Yet willing himself further away still
His heart reaches out to her
Though his mind would have none of her
She got too close and her face seems to emerge from the shadows
Then he sees it...
Her face!
Metamorphed into a Joker’s
He fears to look down
Away from the mocking face
But his neck insists
There was no need
The knife rose to plain sight
Reaching for his heart
He struggles to hold her back in his mind
His unyielding brain ignores his desperate command to dodge the stab
He feels a deathening pain
He lets out a muffled scream
The Joker’s eyes still mocking
Her grip thrusts the knife deeper
Twirling it while making a shrieky laughter
With a grin of accomplishment, she fades into nothing.
Jolting awake to his reality
Panting, afraid and drenched
This time he deliberately, slowly, glances to the side
Half expecting her body with the face
Instead, the vacuum where she belonged screamed at him
Causing heart-felt tears to flow down his neck
It was to be the first of many sweet dreams!