There's a dog barking
and
I'm in a chasm.
My life is a chasm
and there are dogs
barking.

God, the incessantly persistent barking.

It echoes and
I'm barking,
the dog is a chasm.

I'm barking and echoing and
my head is ground into dust.
Eyes squinched shut,
nails dug into my palms.

I snap back to reality
with my hand on my gun.
My Springfield 9mm that I wear on my hip,
fully loaded. The grip is sweaty but the dog is gone.
The barking quiets.

I rummage through my memory
in search of
sleep.

Blessed sleep.
Zzz.

Woof

My eyelid twitches.