John Raines

There's a place where I go that no one else knows,
Where mysteries abound and excitement grows.
A place out of reach of any man's hands,
Safely secluded in a far away land
Beyond the grasp of those who may plunder
The wealth of its power and its life changing wonder.
I go alone to my secret place, never leaving a trace
For someone to follow and discover my space
Where I keep my secrets, my fears, and my regrets
Away from the world and all of its threats.
It's mine and mine alone!
The only place I can call my own.
I treasure the moments spent in this realm
Where anything is possible and I'm at the helm.
This place I describe is all that it seems ...
It's a magical place I call my dreams.

I know you're there.
Lurking in the darkness of the night,
Cowering in the shadows, avoiding the light,
Crouched behind the curtain or hid beneath the bed,
Awaiting the chance to dive into my head.

I know you're there.
With your bloodshot eyes glowing, never showing,
Watching me with a hunger, all the while knowing
I fear you most when the daylight's gone,
With seemingly endless hours til morning's dawn.

I know you're there.
With your black heart pounding in your leathery chest,
Knowing too well I'll get no rest
As you prowl my room like a ghostly haunt,
I know it's my soul that you need and want.

I know you're there,
You demon from Hell. I know you can tell
My fears are growing and beginning to swell
Like a ticking time bomb about to explode.
You sit patiently with your evils to unload.

I know you're there.
You pitiless beast, ready to feed
On my every thought, on my every deed
I can feel you staring, glaring, carrying out your scheme
To enter my mind through an open dream.

I know you're there.
No noise you make as you devise a plan for my soul to take
Back to the land of the living dead before I awake.
I won't sleep, I won't close an eye
As soon as I do I know I'll die.

I know you're there.

Travelers in the Sea of Life,
being guided by worry and strife,
floating rudderless toward desperate straights,
drifting aimlessly towards whatever awaits,
are tossed about on stormy waves,
awaiting departure to bottomless graves.

Oh, if only we could leave this ship
and loosen the chains and its horrible grip
of the burdens and sorrows that come with our plight
that's as deep as the ocean and dark as the night.
Who, if any, can save us now?
What can take hold on this vessel and turn its bow?

I hear the waves crashing from side to side,
no place to run to, nowhere to hide
from the fate that lies before us and the turbulent wake behind.
These conditions are causing me to lose my mind.
I hear my heart pounding like an orchestra's drum;
my fears have a power I can't escape from.

Lost, tossed, battered, and beaten,
I lowered my head and prayed for a beacon,
a small light in the night, something to guide this floundering wreck
towards calmer seas, dry land or a speck
of hope in a place where hardly is found
a glimmer of peace, only happiness drowned.

But wait! Can it be?
Is that the lamp of a lighthouse I see,
flickering dimly on this churning water?
Could we actually break free from certain slaughter?
I looked closely at the dim lit light
shining like a small diamond in this hellish night.

I had almost given up without a fight,
given in to the fears of the troubles that might
take away my peace and end my life
cut apart my soul as though with a knife
and bury my hope in darkness and doubt,
sending me into a spiraling spiritual blackout.

Lord, help me remember when all seems lost,
when my ship is battered, shattered, and tossed,
to look for a Light in the stormy sea
and hold tightly to whatever it might be
in the distance, as small as it may seem
and never let go of the hope downstream.