The Little Nightmare and Me

oil on canvas

The Nightmare hangs

I have come to adore

the dark little painting above my bed.

discovering it after a paralyzing night so long ago

I know now I am not alone.

an imp on my chest

eyes wide with fright

was it a hallucination I saw that night?

my body numb, I could not even scream

I quickly realized it was not a dream.

for years I wondered what it meant

and if I was the only one who experienced the dread.

Fuseli understood

which I discovered from Frankenstein

I always wonder if he too had seen the same creature I saw that night.

A woman sleeps

falling off the bed

the imp on her chest

I’ve felt that dread

the dark tones and colors

a horse in the shadows

from these visions

I am positive he has seen it.

I can’t help feeling inspired by this perfect allegory

my favorite painting forever now

always reminding me of that night

but with better understanding

and more mystery than fright.

It pulls at something within my psyche

as though we share something

the little Nightmare and me.