Crystal
Vivid as crisp morning sky
pass to the intangible
I cling like I’m drowning
My grip flails through
days and years
and the memories
Fall

Stifling steaming
sweaty suffocation
Vines envelop
inescapable intwining
Sun pierced canopy
light jagged glass

In shifting shadows
a crawling cacophany
Slithering serpents strangle
branches of
overhead dread
of filth
and bite
and sting

In eyes and smiles
the jungle breathes
heaving
coiling
waiting

A soul is wrought
from the dust of stars
and sewn together
Tapestry of scars
in dawn sky hues
unraveled to find
the fickle muse
of a broken mind

Eerie eyes shine like daggers
In the gloom of the jungle night
Unknown things crawl and slither
but above the moon glows bright
I feel my way along the path
my breath caught in my throat
Needle leaves scratch my skin
rotting stench makes me choke
And then I hear a menacing
earth vibrating growl
Too close, too close, heart pounding
a musk that stinks so foul
I break into a frenzied run
terrified of the beast
Undergrowth behind me rustles
upon me it will feast
I pelt towards a clearing
a still lake up ahead
Suddenly aware of the shadow
beside me as I sped
I scream and fall to the water
No sound comes from my jaw
In the pool a fearsome tiger
Forgotten its inner awe