nightmare

old tropes no longer hold
my teeth stay in my head
I do not dream that I am dead
no more the fall that never ends
or the taunting from dear friends
the bogeymen hunting me
lightning crash setting monsters free
no more cliche horror to haunt me
brutal mutilations no more daunt me
instead
your absence all too real
grief deadens all I feel
the nightmare from which
I never wake
hidden by my smile
fake