'Nightmares': A Poem by Jasmina Kuenzli

NIGHTMARES
You wake up most nights
Clawing at your chest
Unable to scream
Your nightmares
Which you always used to fight
With one hand tied behind your back
And a confident grin
Throw you
Sobbing,
Begging for mercy
Desperate for the daylight
You used to have lucid dreams
You gave yourself superpowers
Tore into the shadowy monsters
With your own sharpened teeth
Cracked jokes like lightning bolts
You weren’t afraid of anything
You used to be made of steel and diamond
Glittering, edged, razor-sharp
You used to breathe fire
The strongest person you know
But now, you are spider-webbed with cracks
Fractures, and hairline insults
The smallest one
Will lay you out
In pieces
And you don’t know what has happened to you
What dulled your brilliance
Stole your oxygen
And extinguished all that flame
You just want, above all
For the nightmares to stop
Jasmina Kuenzli writes novels, short fiction, poetry, and essays, as well as the bios for her friends' Tinder profiles (results may vary). When Jasmina isn't writing, she enjoys weightlifting, dancing, and surfing. Jasmina would like to thank Brenna and Sarah, who hear these stories first, and Harry Styles, who is sunshine distilled in a human being. Find her on Instagram: @jasminawritespoetry, Tumblr: @jasminawritespoetry.tumblr.com, or on Twitter: @jasmina62442