nightmare – Cajun Mutt Press

Cajun Mutt Press Featured Writer 10/25/23

October 25, 2023 James D. Casey IV

ANOTHER DAY OF DREAD

woke encased in a crusty, cruel
dream hangover which has
gripped me by the dripping guts
I can’t even pretend to stand up
straight, bent with the weight
of what I cannot remember

forgotten demon dreams have
filled my night
leaving me sleepless before dawn
unsettled, dreading the day to come
for no better reason
beyond its threat to be
the same as all the others
nothing worth the effort
except being alive itself,
which reason grows more
tenuous with each day

dreams have killed the night
now they are encamped
on the doorstep of the morning
mustering to ambush the day

M.J. Arcangelini , (b.1952, Pennsylvania) has resided in northern California since 1979. He has been writing poetry since age 11 and has published extensively in both print and online venues & over a dozen anthologies. He is the author of 6 published collections, the most recent of which is PAWNING MY SINS, 2022 (Luchador Press).

Cajun Mutt Press Featured Writer 05/08/23

May 8, 2023 James D. Casey IV

lucid nightmares

the cold rain beats
down an already
beaten area

apathy runs rampant
as chaos rides the
edge of a knife

some people abhor
violence

some people think
of it as second nature,
like breathing

most days, peace
and war are the
same fucking
thing

lucid nightmares
dance around all
the pain

writhing in bed

once beautiful

now a lost soul
awaiting that final
voyage to death

like an old dog

one of these days
where you just
want to lay in
the sun and sleep
like an old dog

at least i haven’t
started shitting
in the yard

yet another bad dream

screams from another room

too many years of abuse

yet another bad dream

stuck behind the eight ball
as the pressure simply builds

if life is a horse race
you’re stuck on a longshot
just foolish enough to think
one day, i will be a winner

winners already know such
things

losers need to manifest every
little thing into existence

here comes the rain again

supposed to last for three
days

J.J. Campbell (1976 – ?) was raised by wolves yet managed to graduate high school with honors. He’s been widely published over the years, most recently at Horror Sleaze Trash, Synchronized Chaos, The Beatnik Cowboy, The Black Shamrock and The Rye Whiskey Review. You can find him most days on his mildly entertaining blog, evil delights. (https://evildelights.blogspot.com)

Cajun Mutt Press Featured Writer 09/15/21

September 15, 2021 James D. Casey IV

Halifax Honeymoon

We spent days sightseeing,
love making in the nights.
Except for the one day
we stayed in, made love twice.
In that deepest slumber
of warm somnambulance,
love heat dreams soon gave way
no matter how such dreams
fought at the forceful dark.

The place, unfamiliar.
I was unsure how young
I was, but the stairs stretched
my legs with each step made
down the dark steep stairwell.
At the bottom was light.
It opened into a room
with one ceiling light on,
a window on the far
side of the room was blacked.
There was nothing in there
except tools on the floor.
I saw no one around
but, I was not alone.

Then I woke up screaming
and my wife embraced me
tighter and sponging up
my cold sweat with her flesh.
Chills faded with her heat.
She calmed me, reassured
that I was safe, awake.

“It’s all over now, hon,
no matter what it was.”
… Yes, it’s all over now,
whatever it had been.

David Alec Knight is from Ontario, Canada and has had poems appear in Wayzegoose, People’s Poetry Letter, Canadian Writers Journal, and Verse Afire. Anthology appearances include The Sandwich/Mill Anthology, 10$ Cash Value: An Anthology Of Assets, Ellipsis…, and By The Wishing Tree. His first collection of poems, The Heart Is A Hollow Organ, will be out before year’s end. David works in healthcare.