April Thirtieth

The comforting blanket of the night
Slowly drifted down over the
Worn
Haggard
Town.
Crickets chorused in the last light of the
fading...evening...sun...
Much had happened in the past month
Followed by what would happen in the next
Made clear by the darkness.
The child-feared realm of
Infinite possibility
Stretched out before her.
When light gave way to darkness
And order to chaos
And the monsters
ROARING!
To escape one's mind
Became intangibly real.
But,
As growing had shown
The darkness that brought real the monsters
Also gave life to beautiful
Impossible
Unbelievable dreams.
Where once stood an
    Exhausted...
       ...weary...
              ...tired...
Town.
Stood a
  Tall
    Strong
     MYSTERIOUS
Forest.
A forest only she could see.
The Forest of Dreams and Nightmares.
Not so different as you might think.
So similar, in fact, that they are one.
Through this forest she traveled
Watching over the
    Deepest
       Hidden
          Darkest and lightest
Thoughts of the town's subconscious mind.
Compared the forest
She had the stature of an ant.
Not half as large
As a half-forgotten dream.
She crawled and climbed
Watching fantasies and sorrows.
A goal achieved
   A test aced
      A friend cheated.
A game won
   A dream followed
       A devastating accident
A first kiss
   A nervous man preparing to propose
      A lonely girl, weeping over the loss of a love never won.
They walked through The Forest of Dreams and Nightmares,
Not as different as you might think.
She shared in their sorrows and triumphs,
Until the Coming of the Light:
   Bringer of order
   Destroyer of peace.
She watched as the darkness reseeded
And the light reclaimed
Furious monsters
  Turned back into old sweatshirts
And previous realities
   Into impossible dreams.