SOFT

All last night I dreamed of lions. I dreamed of their terrible yellow eyes, set in  broad merciless faces. Their manes, faces and eyes all strikingly similar in coloration- freaky.


I dreamed of wheeling bodies, dust, horns, and flailing hooves.

I dreamed of animals dragged heavily down into the grass, wheezing, burbling and giving up.

I dreamed of stomachs ripped open before the spark left the eye.

I dreamed of a flat plain and a desire to run, run, run, but there were claws catching at my feet, my legs, my flanks, and climbing my back.

It was desperate feeling.

My heart burned with a single minded desire to run, to get away, but the claws would not let go and the weight of the lions bore me down. I tried to fight. It was feeble. My legs kicked out from under the covers. My arms flailed.

I woke up. I was sweaty and my heart was racing. Wide-eyed and crazy I sat up and looked around the room. The dream melted away. I fell back on the pillow reassuring myself that it was only a dream.

I had never felt so soft.