Nightmares
A Poem by Tom Shaw
How can those men sleep at night, the ones who go and abandon children? Their hearts should be back in time for tea but instead the children’s plates are empty. They never see the fun of games and thus they never know their children. What then is left for them to dream? How can those men sleep at night, the ones who lead our children astray? They bomb the parents, taking kids captive, force-feeding them diets deficient in life but rich in fear, hatred and rage. They teach only that this world is pain; that the green grass of home will cinder and char in the hellfire of human flourishing. They preach no God or higher self exists and thus no body, even a child’s, is sacred. What then is left for them to pray towards? How can those men sleep at night, the ones who butcher and maim our children? They abuse power and the innocence of youth to say their solution will satiate the hunger. They lock them up, freak them out, line them up, drug them up, cut them up, dress them up, give them new names and watch them tear at each other for some fleeting praise. Yet all that happens is those kids become tender, the potential in their bones ground to a pulp while the heat of the furnace boils off the soul, until finally those children “die suddenly”. Vampires of men then feast on their blood. Maybe those men do not sleep at night. That would explain why they look like death.
Nightmares - by Tom Shaw
Music: Kirk Osamayo - Evil
“Nightmares” was originally published via
in March 2023. This version is taken from my book, “Born Anew and Other Poems” which you can find below:It is precisely because of the sentiments I express in this piece that I feel so passionate about my work with
. We end the generational cycle of trauma through helping youth to step into the most authentic versions of themselves. They become the leaders in their own lives and can create the families and communities around them that allow for human flourishing. This is the mission I am called to take on in the world, and if it sounds like yours too, you can find out more below:
”Nightmares” is also available as a high-quality print, both framed and unframed, on my website. Use the buttons below to take you there:
Thank you for taking the time to read this piece, and I hope you’ve gained something meaningful as a result.
With gratitude,
Tom
A question I ask myself to often. But I'm never satisfied with whatever conclusions I reach because I never understand and I never will. Instead I have resorted to reading about what happens is such people's brains, and how they do such things we could never dream of doing. It doesn't give me a satisfactory answer but it make me feel powerful.