"Insomnia"

He inters uninvited, a shadow cast across my bed   
He lurks just beyond my vision   
His onion breath jars me to alertness, yanking me out of sleep   
He lays heavy-limbed next to me   
He pins me under his arm, making it impossible to breathe   
His bristled beard rubs my shoulder raw   
In panic, I pull away   
I kick my feet free of the binding blankets   
I elbow him in the chest, desperate for escape   
Heart racing, I bolt from the bed to see him sneer in pleasure   
His victory rests in my wakefulness   
He silently slips from my bed when I turn on the light   
In triumph, he vanishes, a shadow in the night   

David Chapman-artist

Copyright 2011 Elizabeth Abrams Chapman

“Light and Shadow”

Pastel smudges draw my eyes to morning’s rise   

aligning the innocence and the essence   

of day’s promise with ease. Light dusts the trees   

with the purity of youth. Beams illume Truth   

in a precise reality that cannot be   

denied. Into the sunshine I dance sublime   

and naked in the summer’s heat. When I retreat   

to the coolness of shadows, a soft breeze blows   

across my glistening skin. I let Hope in   

wrapped in shadow and light—and all is right   

 Copyright 2012 Elizabeth Abrams Chapman