into the dark

 within my nights

in the night, after I've slept a few hours,

dark forces within me bubble up into dream 

within which I lack function, understanding,

not knowing what to do,

not knowing where I am

 and how to get to where I want to go,

I come to awareness, 

and I feel scared,

beset by uncontrollable, undefined realities,

during the day I can ignore my worries

and lose myself in the moments--

fully into what I eat, what I read, what I watch,

where I ramble, what chores I do,

still, underneath the sureness of the present,

fears, darknesses bubble up within me,

and I am a little boy,

lost,

alone,

and a heaviness of fears feels crushing

by Henry H. Walker

May 31, ‘25