Sunday, February 23, 2014

The Bad Dream - A Magpie Tale

Poet's Sleep, 1989 by Chang Hong Ahn
Image provided as a writing prompt by Tess for Mag 208,

The Bad Dream

You woke me twitching
in your sleep, letting out yelps,
small and steam shrouded
in the early chill
and I thought of the wolfhound
we've kept between us.

She dreamt like that too.

Perhaps if you'd stop sinking
like you do, creasing
your face with pages
of the afternoon's free verse
you would not whimper
so in the neap tide
of your grasping pre-dawn soul,
you herky jerky
and tangled white sheets
leaving me exposed all pale
and lumpy damp flesh.

February 23, 2014 9:53 AM

9 comments:

  1. "Your grasping pre-dawn soul..." Powerful...

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  2. "Herky jerky tangled white sheets." Nice imagery.

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  3. Neap tides and pre-dawn souls are scary bedfellows... Make a wonderful poem though. :-)

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  4. Herky jerky made me smile. Love this write.

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  5. Thank you, all, for your kind remarks.

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  6. Ah yes, that lumpy dash flesh, is one of many visions plunging deep within my thoughts. Remarkable and fresh poem.

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  7. Brilliant! I'm a herky jerky fan too!

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  8. I woke myself last night with a strange yelp... wonderful write, as always, Chris...

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The chicken crossed the road. That's poultry in motion.


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