A Monster is Near

her eyes flutter shut

she sleeps like the dead

her dreams become nightmares,

she lives in her head.

a moment has passed

outside of her dream,

but a mere second is years

in her mystic extreme.

all the while she lies

convulsing in fear

for outside her subconscious

a monster is near.

but she can do nothing—

she’s trapped in this prison,

she cannot wake up—

for her monster has risen.

the monster’s eyes twinkle,

leaning back on his throne,

no one can save her—

for the dead sleep alone.

Sarah Uhlman is a junior at Pennsbury High School who likes art, traveling, and watching the X-Files with her family. She’s a Hufflepuff and her favorite Broadway musical is Phantom of the Opera.