A CHILD'S NIGHTMARE

A strange wind blows from the east ~ It awakens the slumbering beast. When nightmares overtake my sleep And into dreams the monsters creep. The trees lower their boughs in fear As the darkness grows ever near. The morning sun seems far away While I listen to demons play. I hear a creak upon the stair, But when I look, no one is there. Echoes of laughter haunt the hall. It is just the wind... and that is all. I can not hear what words are said By the voices underneath my bed. They shall never coax me to peek From beneath the safety of my sheet. The tapping on my window pane Is naught but fingers of the rain. Night's creatures are merely trees, The shadowy faces only leaves. I lay me down again to sleep With childish prayers my soul to keep, And breathless wait the break of day When all the ghosts will go away.