Death Dream
by Emma-Jane Barlow
Death visits me in my dreams,
he floats in his obsidian cloak,
with his festered hands around my throat,
he plunges me into the raging sea,
steals every breath of life from me.
He drops my soul into the fire,
burns my ivory flesh on a wooden pyre.
Death visits me in my dreams,
Dangling those I love, on a tenuous thread.
I am drowning and gasping for air in an ocean of dread.
He creates a vivid snapshot of how it would feel.
To bear witness to the cruelest ordeal.
Death visits me in my dreams,
he leaves memories in my heart like a poisoned kiss.
I awaken in a cold sweat, my body abandons the abyss.
Soaked in fresh teardrops, bones pulsing with pain.
I hope the reaper never visits me in my dreams again.
he floats in his obsidian cloak,
with his festered hands around my throat,
he plunges me into the raging sea,
steals every breath of life from me.
He drops my soul into the fire,
burns my ivory flesh on a wooden pyre.
Death visits me in my dreams,
Dangling those I love, on a tenuous thread.
I am drowning and gasping for air in an ocean of dread.
He creates a vivid snapshot of how it would feel.
To bear witness to the cruelest ordeal.
Death visits me in my dreams,
he leaves memories in my heart like a poisoned kiss.
I awaken in a cold sweat, my body abandons the abyss.
Soaked in fresh teardrops, bones pulsing with pain.
I hope the reaper never visits me in my dreams again.
Emma-Jane Barlow is a bestselling poet and author. She started writing at seven, drawing from life's experiences including autism, love, and loss. She has published Darkness & Light (2020) and Sins & Sunflowers: Second Edition (2023). She has been featured in multiple anthologies and on BBC Radio Manchester. EJ is currently working on various creative projects, driven by her love of storytelling.