The Fantasma

sleep is oblivion
or as close as we can get
while clinging to the mortal thread
treasured for what it should be
populated by fantasma
of the past and the future
the nightmare of waking
portrayed by the dead
full of willing lovers
ready to turn into demons
just like those of daylight
reflections of reality
with the monsters of childhood
metamorphosed for our age
no longer recognized
as those of the sleepless babe
who met them first
before running for comfort
dressed in flannel and fur boots
hinting we are incomplete
not ready for the final sleep
perhaps that is their purpose
to make us all aware
that however much we crave it
oblivion contains its own horrors