The Forest of Dark
In the forgotten space
of Child’s imagination
there exists a black spot –
the Land of Nightmares.
Here we find
the Forest of Dark.
Mouldy mushrooms
push their way through humus;
anorexic trees
stand naked
amongst rotten leaves,
reveling in their wicked,
wanton,
leaflessness.
Faceless ghosts
pop out from behind boulders
to grab at the dirty little girl,
shrieking with delight
at her shrieks of pain
and fear.
Suddenly,
the ghosts melt down
into the slime
and in a thunder cloud of fore bounding,
the devil arrives,
seated on a big,
black,
hard bed.
The devil is fat
and ugly
with yellow teeth
and giant hands.
The devil grins cruelly
and stretches forward
to pitchfork the little girl
on to the big,
black,
hard bed.
The devil starts laughing.
The little girl starts crying.
“Mummy!”
The little girl wakes up in her own bed,
in her own room,
in her own house.
Mummy’s not home.
She’s gone to work.
Daddy’s not home.
He’s gone to work.
The door slowly creeks open
And the baby-sitter stands there.
The devil leers
as he slowly comes towards the bed...
