Dark Stranger

Last night
I had a dream

And in that dream
I sat the head of a long wooden table
in the grandest room I’d ever dreamed

And all around me
were strangers

faces distorted
shifting
their size and shapes
fluctuating wildly
like a thousand old TVs
they searched franticly
for the perfect station
that perhaps one day
they might
relax

each face revealed itself to me
the truth

they were

memories cast as actors
and actors cast as memories
each of them uniquely a piece
of my fractured soul…

In my dreams
they costumed
as every person I’ve ever met

speaking and dancing
to beautifully written scripts
crafted by my own subconscious

but among them
a dark stranger loomed

his aura
inexplicably dark

his presence
corrosive to the very matter
of the room

his stench
poisoned the stagnant air
around him

he did not speak
but instead stared
anxiously

his dark mumblings
from frozen lips
filled my mind
as he tried to advance me
beyond the dream
of this honest hall

where he might not be so exposed
as he revealed himself to me
in this moment

the others fidgeted
fearfully

submissive to his gaze

But I knew better…

I knew his deepest fear
that the gaze he could not stand
was my own

Dark Stranger…

Beautiful Stranger…

I forgive you

for it was not your fault
to have become so tainted

It was not your fault
to have been born of the tears
hidden behind lying eyes

It was not your fault
to have been created only
to carry my sins
my fears
my shattered dreams
and crushed innocence

I cannot be upset with you
for hiding in my chest

I cannot be upset with you
for spilling shadows upon my heart
and painting demons with my dreams

you tried
so hard

but you were never meant
to carry it all
alone

everything you’ve ever done
has been to hold me
between the stairs
of heaven and hell

And you have done phenomenal…

But it’s time to let go
dear friend

It’s time to release your pain
and let the symphony of “I”
embrace you

It’s time to carry these memories
no longer as shadows
to be ignored and hidden

but as the cement
that holds
this beautifully crafted
stone fortress of sanity
together

show the world
how beautiful
you have become

you’ve been fighting for so long

Please…
please….
please…..
rest…

you are safe now…

I love you
and I’ll never
ever
let you go

Published by John Onyx

A poet of the lost, the found, and the in-between. I’m interested in collaborating with photographers, musicians, and videographers on larger projects. Feel free to email me at me@johnonyx.com if interested!

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