Not Strong Enough
The gentleman asks me about the dreams
They’re not dreams, I tell him,
They’re nightmares,
Terrors
A spiraling black vortex
Howling
Racing toward me like the plague
It feels like hell
She’s ripped from my arms
“Help me,” she cries
She screams for me to save her
And pleads for her life
“Don’t let go,” she says,
“Don’t let go”
And she’s gone
I’m not strong enough
Then it’s over, says the gentleman
You wake up and she’s there
But other nights, I say
It’s the monster
I’m with her
And then darkness
The monster comes
Drags her away from me
She squeezes my hand tight
And lets out a bloodcurdling shriek
As she peers into my eyes with fear
I can only watch her disappear into the darkness
I’m not strong enough
She’s there when you wake, says the gentleman
Just reach out and remember she’s right there
Some nights, I say,
We’re on a mountain
The rock breaks beneath her
I hear a gasp
And catch one arm
As she dangles within inches of her life
“Promise me,” she says,
“Tell me you won’t drop me”
I don’t answer
Now she’s afraid
I see in her eyes
As they fill with anger and tears
She wants to shout at me,
“Tell me”
“Promise me”
“Promise me”
But she says nothing
She knows I can’t save her
When the rock broke
So did my promise to her
And she falls
I’m not her rock
I’m not strong enough
When you first wake and see her, says the gentleman,
Tell me what happens
Nothing, I tell him
This storm
This monster
This mountain
Call it what you will
It made her disappear
I was never strong enough