In the Sweat of the Night
I am the ghost
Of retribution
The one that
Haunts you every day
And every night
That lies in the layers
Between sleep and wakefulness
Between wakefulness and reality
Ready to pounce
The moment you drift off
The moment you wake up
Torturing your dreams
And your every waking thought
'Til you wake up bathed
In the sweat of fear
Or go mad
In the light of day
I was there and saw
What you did
The drinks in the bar
One following the other
To drown the sorrows
Of your fractious marriage
One following the other
To avoid the inevitable trip
To the place you still
Had to call home
Because you did not have
The spine
To fix what was broken
Or to leave
And let the wounds heal
The girl was three
Still cherubic with baby fat
Her blond hair in soft curls
Around a heart-shaped face
Strapped in to a carseat
In the back of the van
The mother was young
With intense green eyes
The bulge in her belly
Pushing against the fabric
Of her sweatshirt
And yoga pants
Wondering what she would serve
For dinner that night
You met at the intersection
Of 4th Street and Main
There was a traffic light
Which gave her the green to go
And you the red to stop
But your head was still stuck
In the last bottle you drank
And you did not give the
Slightest attention
To the world around you
You plowed through
At 25 miles above
The posted limit
T-boned the van
And crashed its other side
Into a telephone pole
On the corner
Your airbag deployed
And when the police arrived
They found you the sole survivor
Though you had no idea even
Of what had occurred
But in the brief moment
Where the mother cried out
And the girl screamed in fear
I was born
A single ghost
To represent all three
Of those lost that night
My purpose will be
Your undoing
Even when you leave prison
You will never be free
I will be with you
At your side
In your head
In your fears
Every moment of
Every day
And twice as fierce
In the shadows
Of the night
You will carry me
To the grave
And far, far beyond
Never alone
Never free
Never free