“Are you afraid of the dark?”

No. Not at all, in fact.
I really don’t mind
A pitch-black room.

What I am scared of,
Is my dark.

The dark that swallows my vision
When I lay down at night to sleep.

This deep, dark dreamland
Is far more severe
Than what any nightlight could fix.

Sleep is a tsunami.
I am a swimmer in the middle of the storm.
With each paddle, I am taken out and under.

Insomnia is my buoy.
The constant rattle in my head
Reminds me of the tempest to come.

Nightmares are like sharks.
They eat and gnaw on my thoughts
Shredding my soul to pieces.