Wakened in the darkened hour
hearing silent screams
She trembles with a blinding fear
that now fills her dreams.

She sees a vision all too real
of a helpless little girl
Taken from her innocence
into her shattered world.

Memories of the trusted hand
flashbacks in her mind
Are but fractured segments
of another place and time.

Tear stains on the pillow
footsteps down the hall
Crying out into the night
locked behind the bedroom door.

The faceless image before her
games she didn't understand
Drawings of a mouthless child
with no arms or hands.

The terror of her childhood dreams
that haunts her mind today
Still lingers in the memory
of a time so far away.

She closes her tear-filled eyes
to block out all the pain
She doesn't want to remember
or to feel that way again.

The images of the painful past
that come to her at night
Stalk her in the darkened hours
till the morning light.

©  Christina
17th April, 2001

"This is a dark poem about the fragmented memories of incestual abuse haunting one's dreams....from the tears on the pillow to the drawings of a mouthless child.   The pain, the horror and the innocence of a child enduring such torment that stalk the memories in nightmares of years to come
~ aptly titled Night Terrors.   Based on those who have experienced this abuse and repressed the memories, this poem is dedicated to all victims of child sexual abuse."