Purple Octopus

Purple Octopus
By Katz

The Purple Octopus is coming!
         I am ripped
From peaceful slumber’s soft cocoon.
         I cower beneath my sheets.
He’ll be here soon!

My heart beats
Not with gentle rhythm
But with terror’s hammer.
         Pounding
                   Pounding
                             Harder
                                       Harder

Till I think it will burst!
The Purple Octopus is here – NOW!

Perched atop my roof
Bulbous body barely balanced
Snaking tentacles writhing
         Groping
                   Searching
                             For me!

My closed window is no guarantee!
He can sneak in through there
Just one breach is all it takes.

My mouth is open wide to cry
         Silence!
Dream’s captive
         My throat closed.

Panicked, I leap from my bed
         Bedroom door crashes
Wrenched hinges moan
         I burst out!

Gargantuan purple tentacles
         Drape themselves
Over every window, every door
         There is no escape!

Mother’s arms capture me mid-flight
She tries to calm my raging fright.
“There is no purple octopus here.
         He’s not of the roof
                   Nor near the door.”

Gently she leads me
Through the house
         Each room
                   Each window
                             Each door

We check.

Mother looks
Both ways
         Up the alley
                   Down the street

Streetlamps slumber under midnight’s mist
Dozing trees drop darkest shadows
Grass sleeps beneath frost’s blanket
All seems quiet.

She sees safety
I see dark hiding places
I know he’s waiting, cloaked in shadow
Just below my eye’s seeing.

Coiled to pounce
         Ready to snatch
                   Eager to grab a tender girl-child

“Back to bed now,”
Mother hugs, seeks to comfort
“Nothing can hurt you here.”

But I know better
         The Purple Octopus
                   Lurks in every Nightmare!