Nightmares sometimes become reality,
A walking, living experience you didn't think
Was real, tangible, possible,
Until your fears come true.

Nightmares aren't subject to night,
When all is dark and shadowed;
Sometimes nightmares are set in broad daylight,
Where you can see it all unfold.

Nightmares aren't so cliché,
Where clowns chase you,
You end up naked in public,
Or you're free falling from a cliff.

No, nightmares are becoming
Your worst version of yourself
And imposing that upon others,
And realizing you made their reality a nightmare too.

Nightmares are becoming what used to
Grapple at your feet,
What would pull you down,
And keep you from standing back up.

Nightmares are when the things that hurt you
End up becoming familiar enough that
You hurt other people the same way,
And you're now apart of a cycle.

Nightmares are when you lead
Someone else into your own,
Long enough that you become the nightmare
Rather than just enduring one.