Jamie Welch

Nightmares

Artist Statement

I don’t have dreams, only nightmares.

I fall asleep to the moon rising, stars shining above the setting sun.

I know that what awaits me, lurking in the dark, is sure to come.

The glimmer of light fades as darkness covers my room

And I curl in my sheets, hiding from the horrors of my doom.

The door creaks open, the creatures crawl and slither in my tomb.

The large shadow man stands tall over me…

I jolt awake in a fevered panic.

Birdsong heralds the brightening sky, the arrival of dawn.

Spiders creep out, the snake glides away, the shadow man is gone.

I sit up in terror and feel my disbelief rise.

A streak of light pierces through the window into my eyes.

I let out a series of heavy sighs,

Realizing it was all a bad dream again.