A Nightmare Poem by L MILTON HANKINS

The other night I dreamed of spiraling downward,
But the earth delayed rising up to receive me.
I watched my unending fall into masses of despair
Falling rapidly, I found that I could not flee;
I could only hope that "better angels" would prevail,
That I would be spared this ultimate catastrophe.

The sudden dashing of my bones and blood
Into the seething cauldron of anger at the barricades,
I became embedded with the riff-raff insurrectionists
[For those two hours of storming the palisades]
Who were not impetuous youths or young idealists,
But malcontents gathered from all types and trades.

When I awakened I found myself suspended in limbo
Not discerning where I had been or what it could mean,
Until I recognized the statue of Lady Liberty atop
The shining golden dome that rises from the green;
Realizing how awfully close, like democracy, I had come
To disappearing, and unfortunately, never again seen.