Nightmare

Nightmare 11/1/11

The world is beige on beige
Washed out and painted over
Cleaned, sanitized, and omitted
So that no one is offended
And no one sees the truth.

Identities are protected
And the motives remain hidden
But any man that has been watching
Should know the truth by now.

Every man has skeletons
That he drags from place to place
Chained together forever
With unbreakable links.

The bones are the past
The things that make us human
But they are also our mistakes
That we wish no one knew.

But in this world
We don’t get the luxury
Of more than a single chance
At least not that often
And never when we think.

I close my eyes and imagine
Black lace curtains
And pearls dripping from a chandelier
Roses floating in a pool of blood
Rich, thick and warm.

But day dreams
Are not the same as a nightmares
And the streets are full of monsters
But not the kind you see in movies
Is the evil we have wrought.

No matter how much you give
It will never be enough
Because an animal is an animal
And hatred runs deep.

No longer shocking are the murders
Every single day
And every single night
That we sit and watch
As no one says a word.

Suicide by gunshot is quick
But if the good are silent
Then death comes to all slowly
But still just as sure.

They stalk the unsuspecting
And blindside the innocent
Laughing like hyenas
With no mind at all.

They are the monsters
But I did not create them
And neither did you
Because all men suffer
But not all kill.

I too have been angry
And my throat dry with thirst
Barely able to hold back
At the horror I have seen.

Standing head to head
Against everything I abhor
As it slithered into my home
And took away my life.

A deep and dark memory
Hidden under my bed
Quietly injecting its poison
In everything I loved.

As my dreams disappeared
Everything turned gray and died
Leaving me alone with the ghosts
But very much alive.

I wanted to avenge
And I wanted to destroy
Tearing them apart
And smashing them away.

I could taste the blood
And I could sense the fear
The kind that knows you are coming
And begs to die.

But there are things
That no man should do
So I stopped my passions
In a bottle
And screwed the lid down tight.

I wait and I watch
And remain a step behind
Biding my time
Until I can wait no more.

Just before the break of dawn.
In the darkest of hours
I lay awake
And think.

I am not alone
And I know right from wrong
So I beg to make another day
Without giving up
And without giving in.

We all have emotions
And we all know the pain
But even I must carry on
And let them walk away.