Moments Before Awakening / Midnight Molt by Michael Keshigian

Moments Before Awakening

From the bleak canister of a nightmare

the sun suddenly blazed

and he leaped out from the flames,

swept up by the wind,

cruising the fiery rays 

that melted crimson layers of burning clouds,

catching a flock of cardinals,

bloodied and dripping red,

soaring then diving

like bombers on a mission,

globs of matted down,

splattering upon barren landscape,

their orange beaks

snipping gobbets of ash

from embers

that crowded the air,

gobbets that darkened his face, 

slickened his hair with soot

and buried his feet 

in the residual cinders,

his toes curdling

in the puddles of black rain

like the talons of a red tailed hawk

about to yank him out of this dream.

Midnight Molt

He sat upon the veranda,

straining to put pen to paper,

pursuing thoughts

that might relieve

the unexplained irritability

haunting him

through the cold, dark moments

following midnight.

Dim, iridescent moonbeams

created ominous silhouettes

from shadowed branches

upon the wall behind

that undulated menacingly

in the gentle breeze

like a cobra with fangs bared

that without notice,

precisely entangled his hair 

and delicately penetrated

the smooth surface of skin,

reaching the recesses of his brain

to charm stubborn words

and nocturnal thoughts

from out the lair

that incited him to inscribe,

upon fresh molt, 

a venom which would devour

an unsuspecting prey.

Michael Keshigian, from New Hampshire, had his twelfth poetry collection, Into The Light, released in April, 2017 by Flutter Press. He has been published in numerous national and international journals including Oyez Review, Red River Review, Sierra Nevada College Review, Oklahoma Review, Chiron Review and has appeared as feature writer in over a twenty publications with 6 Pushcart Prize and 2 Best Of The Net nominations. (michaelkeshigian.com)