Sleepwalker by Sandy Hiss

Inspired by the film Silent Hill


In my dreams,
someone is calling to me in the mist.
I cannot see who it is. The voice is familiar
yet distant. My lips tremble in reply.
Mother? Is it you?

Above me,
black petals fall from the sky,
fluttering like moths
drawn to some unknown light.
My eyes become full moons.

The petals soon envelope me,
warm as a mother’s touch,
smudging my pale cheeks
in dark, ashy kisses.

Below me,
the earth is on fire,
singeing the soles of my boots.
I run, on and on, towards shelter,
towards the voice that continues to call.

I think of mother again.
Where could she be?
I think of a lone rose
struggling to bloom
beneath a choking sky.

Before me,
the abandoned town
is silent but not dead.
She is here somewhere,
among the dead and debris.

I will walk forever
until I fall back into her arms.

Sandy Hiss writes lyrical poetry and short fiction in various genres such as horror, paranormal, and fairy tale. Her works include The Rosegiver and The Haunting of Meredith. She finds forests, gardens with stone statues, and old world architecture to be hauntingly beautiful.