Awakening

~original artwork~

The stale stench of putrid death-fumes fans over

Her face, as her sleeping, dreaming eyes fly open

To behold the lined, cracked cavern beams comprising

This tight, close shelter of death she has been hermetically sealed into,

A heavy metal-lined coffin sunk deep into the black earth

Wait, wait, I am not dead yet! I am not dead yet!

She hears her inner screams, tries to lift her arms to scratch

At the top of the coffin, soft wood splintering into her fingernails,

Knowing it is too late, she is dead, she is not dead, is she dead?

How could they not know, how could they not know,

How could they not know and bury her alive and breathing??

A sharp-toothed rodent gnawing at her foot, maggots billowing and burrowing

Into and out of her eye sockets, in the dark slimy things are slithering

And she will go mad, yes she will swim in insanity

Before she dies her true death, caught in this bizarre whirlpool

Of existing and waking in the moments before a soul

Is hooked by the talons of a demon and yanked

Out of its owner, and she is horrified yet bound, in her shock

In the deepest silence she has ever known

Only her agonizing inner cries screaming endlessly

In the background of the thoughts in her head, thoughts

Of hope conquered by the blackness and the smells of decay

The unbearable feel of death's creatures, coldly and efficiently

Destroying her skin, working their jaws and claws into her very tissues

And the very present reality of the solid locked coffin in which she lies,

Alone, considered dead, as indeed she will be when

She suffocates from lack of air, makes her hyperventilate,

And just as she feels herself slipping into maniacal laughter,

She opens her eyes, and her breathing almost stops as she sees

The familiar bedroom decor around her, and she realizes

That she was only dreaming; not about her death,

But about her life.

Reviews

[Ufi Auttorri ~ Amy C. T..]

I've had the grave dream before too. It was mostly as you describe but you omitted the part about the passage of time, the rotting of the wood, the burrowing of the earthworms, the roots coming down from the flowers growing above and then traveling upward through these into the brilliant light of day as a floating, joyous orb of spirit. I hope you have this version if there is ever a next time. Time to come out of the shadows and say hello to the light and smile. Here, let's practice... put your fingers on each side of your mouth and push, upwards. There ya go!! :D {pats forehead and smiles}

[Layley Lu]

It somehow seems more the horror to find it was about her life. This is unsettling. Visceral and compelling!

[Quattro Hall]

whoa that was deep, like 6 feet under.
A take in ones life. Death takes us all at one point but when dreams take us to death our minds panic.
fantastic jade, almost got lost on what was going on. It didn't seem like your kind of writing. the end was delivered well and I could see or get what you were trying to deliver.

[Pete Langley]

Last night went well then, sweetheart??!!! You scared the life out of ME. I can only commiserate, and hope life improves for this girl. Beautifully, graphically written. P,