Disruption

The past visits as a nightmare
replaying the sickness I gave you
that infects us both now
recounting our regrets
throughout long nights
waiting to wake up

In the daylight
the images get covered over
ready to be dug up again
like cold hard earth
heaped upon the bed
for another night

In the dark
I see you next to me
and in your clenched jaw
I see how the constant retelling
has changed the way you sleep

You barely move
but for your quaking shoulders
that betray the disruption
beneath your skin

 

 

This poem was first published in Veil, The Journal of Darker Musings, October, 2014.

 

©Daniel von der Embse