“The Nightmares That Woke Up”

A poem by Anonymous (9).

Once upon a time,

There was a little girl and a little boy

And the little girl told the little boy that when they grew up

The little girl was gonna marry the little boy

And they’d have lots of kids and be just like their mommys and daddys

And the little boy turned and looked at the little girl

And the little boy told the little girl that he didn’t have a mommy or a daddy

And how could he be like his mommy or daddy

When the only thing his mommy and daddy were

Was gone

And the little boy in the torn hand-me-downs took a step closer to the little girl in the pink princess dress

And he told her about how when the sun goes down and all the little boys and girls go to sleep

The nightmares wake up

And at the end of the day

The little girl went to her mommy and daddy crying about the nightmares that woke up

And the little boy went to his house

To his not-mother and his not-father

To his not-brothers and his not-sisters

To spend another day

In the House of Nightmares

With the Nightmares that Woke Up