Cadaverous Nightmares

Dawn breaks, a dark sensation seeps through the blind
A strange light on my restless, confused mind.
Sleep, as fitful as it was, offered no release
Just an empty stare, a spine-chilling unease.

Silently creeping near, hugging me in an unwanted embrace
A deathly thought, contaminating time and space
Not of demons born of fairytales or ancient lore
But a terror far more profound, beating at my very core

A deathly face, half-remembered in the dim of my dreams,
A silent cry, a cascade of frail screams.
Not a phantom's caress, neither a spectre's intimidating sigh
What is this half-formed terror that plagues me - and why?

A slow, ominous decay eating me from within,
The thoughts of evil opinions, the remorse of past sins
Not a detectible terror, no talons, nor fangs, nor shriek,
But the soul's verdict is vile, cold-blooded, and bleak

I can hear my heart beating this close, this tight
As grim thought demands, the fading light
It tells of choices made paths indifferently trod
Of the deserved scars only known to our God.