Middle School Winner: The Nightmare After a Dream

by Nikko Seegmiller
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Poem

The Nightmare After a Dream Every part of the well-earned slumber is pulchritudinous One lying under a soft, heavy blanket is serene as a loafing cat The drifting into sleep is peaceful as soft precipitation on a cloudy evening Dreaming is the utmost pinnacle of human existence Every dreamer loves the temporary appeased and gratified life they get to live Residing within their subconscious’ Garden of Eden But paradise cannot exist without illusion Yin cannot be without Yang All good things must eventually come to an end Amidst a perfect realm and timeline An overwhelming sense of distraught will wash over you Nothing can save you from the blaring that comes next Both a subtle jingle and a ringing cacophony will viciously ravage your ears and mind A dreamer hearing the alarm’s blaring is akin to a sinner hearing the 7 trumpets of the Rapture Yet no 144,000 are saved A dreamer can go from the epitome of relaxation and tranquility to a cold, sweaty, fearful panic In only an instant But some higher force decided that’s not nearly enough to punish humanity To judge us humble primates For simply indulging in our minds In the real world, the seven plagues will be unleashed upon your body The harshest drought upon your throat You’ll be stripped of your senses Your muscles and ligaments will lack any intention or purpose An earthquake will be unleashed upon your equilibrium so that every mountain and island would be removed from its place in your vision Just like the trumpets preceding the seals, thought and direction in your mind will be reversed A dreamer attempting to rise from their mattress carries a harder task than Sisyphus or Atlas But cursed by their own bodies rather than Zeus There is no sanction or salvation for the humble dreamer For this relentless internal cycle will repeat until their end of time