Nightmare

She wakes,
surfaces,
breathes,

Air rushes in,
hold.
Air rushes out,
hold.
Air rushes in,
hold.
Air rushes out,
hold.

She felt it,
heard it,
saw it,
thought it.

Stomach tensed,
taut like a bubble's surface.

Breathing in a rhythm,
slowing, slowing.

Falling

Screaming through the air,
without sound,
down I go,
dazed and lost.

How did I go off that cliff,
built, layer by layer,
full of vigor.
and hopes.

The higher you go,
the faster you run,
from the bottom,
the longer,
more deadly,
the fall.

S.D.  (Original 10/4/11)