My eyes shut,
My arm over her chest.
I could feel
The beat of her heart,
The flow of her blood,
The convulsions
Of her ribcage, like
Some suffacating fish.
When she jumped up,
That way she does
When her nightmares
Get the best of her.
Her nightmare stood
Beside the pillow,
Perfectly harmless,
With eight wire-like legs.
She stared with
Her widest eyes.
I told her I'll get rid of it,
But when I reached out,
It crawled away between
My bed and wall.
It entirely vanished.
I opened the blinds,
The window, and
Strached my arms down
The side of the bed,
And throw the
Imagary arachnid
Out into the world.
She asked if
I really did
Expel the spider,
She'd seen this
Track before,
I lied to her and
She asked me
To promise.

- Jamie F. Nugent