Free?

It is a rush not a roar.
Eyeless, gazing upwards.
Dozens of lipless mouths
Locked in foaming grins.

I smile back.

They gnaw night's thumbnail till it's
Cracked and lost its
Will to shine.  It's frac-
tured pieces turned to
Playthings of a surging
Darkness.  A deflated nightlight
strangled with invisible fingers.

This creature my offer of peace.

There were no words in the
Crashing rush.
But after the thunder came a
Still, small voice - "come,
Come drink of the
Water of eternal
Sleep."

The softer he spoke the louder his
Urgings rang in my heart.

Years of temptation,
Nights of torturous dialogue
Reduced to a single word -
"Come," and again, "come."
A gentle "come", a soothing "come,"
A motherly "come," an inaudible "come."
Each one directed to a specific,
Empty chamber of a lost
Heart.

I thirst for this water to
Quench my lungs.  I leap to
Embrace this savage, I jump to
Wrap my arms around this
Intangible figure.

Till at last it holds
My body tightly, squeezing
Her in a lover's embrace.
In a frenzy filling it with
Itself till I am full of it.

The muscles relax in its hold,
And the body floats in the arms
Of a rush not a roar,
As the still, small voice hums a
lullaby.