Nightmare
I wake to total darkness
My skin cold and clammy
My heart thundering out of control
And my breath coming in harsh gasps
Still completely engulfed in terror
Held tightly in the grasp of the nightmare
My screams still echoing through the room
I try to remember the dream's content
But can recall only vague images
Horrors tugging at the edge of my memory
Thank God it was only a dream
It was only a dream, wasn't it?
Yet it seemed so real
I fumble with the light
And as it comes on
I realize my nightmare has only begun
Terri Lyn Stanfield
1/20/2001