Trepidation Poem by Leinad Zerimar

The crowd jeers in tongues unknown,
A cacophony of chorus.
How am I here?
And from whence have I come?
There is a sonorous pressure;
A percussionist's drum.

The ground is bare,
But this is no Earth at my feet.
My mind, like chambers of isolation,
The terrible reality of this dream;
Amidst an alien congregation.

Like sudden thunder, there comes a cry;
The crowd on its feet.
I cannot see now:
Does this crowd even stand,
Or is the throng that surrounds me
Not the least form of man?

It stalks me, the monstrous beast:
Like a bear, its thunderous steps a cannonade,
Greedily, its eyes lust for my meat.
Fantastical features of horror plantigrade,
With its unsettling and untenable jaws;
For a bear it is not, but the merest resemblance,
In strictest defiance of natural laws.

Is this fantasy?
The fallacy of nocturnal imaginings?
I am at home; a gentle repose in soft coverlets.
But, if this truly is dream-walking,
How can I feel my feet thresh?
Why do I smell on the wind
The stench of newly torn flesh?

In a burst, it charges,
Gnashing and howling.
There's no place to hide!
I try to run, to take flight,
But the terror moves in
With demonic delight.

Barbed mandibles eviscerate muscle.
Gashing, tearing,
Peeling sinew from bone!
It frays at my side;
Though I don't cry or moan.

Consciously, thoughts abandon.
Though I remain awake, my body assumes
A mute estivation,
Which enraptures the beast
With great delectation.

I wretch and conscious thoughts fail.
Avidly, it gnaws at me
With ravaging madness;
Masticating organs
With a gluttonous avarice.

A rapid spasm begins in my leg,
And moves through my spine -
With rhythmic reduplication -
And matches the tenor and tone
Of my silent ululation.

Pupils so wide they sting!
Fear overwhelming, shrieking inwardly!
Stabile throes of agony!
The great, indescribable pain!
Torment at its apogee!

I am at home; a gentle repose in soft coverlets.
Prostrated, I continue to convulse.
Stirring from unconscious death,
My throes of agony lessen,
Waning with each passing breath.

The pain lingers
From wounds no man but I can see.
As quiet descends,
Recalling the visions still fresh -
The vile torment of my sleep -
I reach out to feel my own flesh.

I weep, because no one will know.
I weep, because I always will...