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Fear of the Beast Our Loved One Dreams | Poem

 
 
FEAR OF THE BEAST OUR LOVED ONE DREAMS
 

Too long we've loved one and other in shadows
where cool dark air caresses secrecy.
We have lost the knowing sparkling in our eyes
lost it or replaced it with shadows.
In darker rooms our fathers and mothers lie
            safe from dreams we dreamt to frighten them.
            We had grown out of fear, we thought,
            forgotten it lost in darkness, seeking comfort.
            Once we loved without thought of separation,
            clinging to one and other, not for warmth
            but for the joy of touch. Asking in whispers,
            ominous in the two o'clock dim,
            "Who'll see after our own crying?
            Will you go from warm with your feet
            on the cold floor to comfort?"
Too long we have loved one and other in shadows
that my cloudy eyes close on the thought of leaving
my bed's comfort. I, not I, I will not go
from darkness into fear my child grows.

- John Horváth Jr

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