It’s early June.
New York, upstate.
The sky is loaded with potential
Ozone cracks
Air is charged
Clouds are thick and substantial
Sun goes down
The night sets in
The child finds himself outside
Asleep just then
Awake right now
In the space where dreams collide
Lightning strikes
The sky alights
Unspoken fears find their voice
Need to escape
Nowhere to run
The cellar door is his only choice
Dark steel blue doors
Sloped window well
Dreams abstract his perception
Time dilates
The storm enraged
Into a dreamlike inception
Duck down the stairs
Under ground now
This place is cold and surreal
Damp wooden door
A liminal space
With dread too dense not to feel.
Frozen in place
Time standing still
A dream so raw and so sore
Hand on the latch
Access denied
Who locked the cellar door?
Outside this space
The clouds let loose
Imminent fear, a visceral sense
Darkness engulfs
Panic sets in
He mounts his only defense
A blink and a nod
The dream dissolves
Escaped to the light evermore
Darkness abates
Still it’s unknown
What lies behind the cellar door
Mannino Acid 