Woke up in the night
propped up by two stern pillows
as brow sweat dripped onto my chest.
Bedroom dark couldn’t see my hands,
opened the window wide
and let in gentle moonlight.
Inhaled night air which tasted sweet till
my heart eased
its drumbeat of fear.
Been drowning,
as done a thousand times before,
not in a sea deep green where dolphins play,
but in the dark, lifeless ocean
that laps lazily at the edge of life.
Tried to read, couldn’t concentrate
the dark ocean flooded the village only road.
My heart tolled sweat dripped onto the floor
where house ants came
and drank my terror.