Poetry 2017 Longlist, Sravani Singampalli

A Macabre Dream

Fireflies in their perilous eyes
Humongous their bodies
Behemoth in their demeanour
Tempestuous was the wind.
Wine-red were my tears
Crippled were their thoughts
Sprinting through the woods
Grisly things in my vicinity
Jeopardized my life.
Breaking free from monstrosity
Ashen-faced with cold feet
I became downhearted
Lost in the bizarre world.
I tried hard to escape
Those dark unfathomable eyes
My life became a spine-chilling tale
Howling sounds from behind.
Thunder in the sky seemed
Like temper tantrums
Of a frustrated old man.
The Behemoths still chasing
Their teeth like white daggers
Trying to taste
My cherry-red blood
At last clutched in their hands
Their fingers resembling
The pillar-like prop roots
Of a banyan tree.
I screeched hard with pain
My heart beating at the
Speed of a bullet train
I closed my eyes
Praying to god
To save my life
Reassured to discover my reality
As I opened my eyes.