Unbelief by Linda M. Crate

she held her hands

tightly

in a somber prayer

darkness drew nearer soon

her unbelief spelled

itself out into a night without

a moon or star or wisp

of light to cut through the darkness,

and even then in that moment

she felt unprotected;

her faithlessness

made

for an ugly prayer 

she was denied because she did not

believe the power which she 

called—

the nightmares still came

crawled into every part of her,

and gnawed until there

was nothing left

but dark circles beneath her eyes

and a madness that circumvented the moon

until it swallowed her whole.

Linda M. Crate's poetry, short stories, articles, and reviews have appeared in numerous anthologies and magazines both online and in print. She has three published chapbooks the latest of which came out in August 2016: If Tomorrow Never Comes (Scars Publications). She is also the author of the fantasy novels branded as the Magic series.