Every night he screamed out in his sleep.

“Mommy! Mommy!  Where are you?”

“I’m right here sweetie.  Mommy’s right here.”

He looked straight into my eyes, unable to see me.  The terrified cry came again.

“Mommy!”

Still trapped inside his private hell,

One in which I had no access.

Both completely helpless until the new day.

For him, the morning erased any memories of nighttime terror.

I, on the other hand, could never forget,

the haunted look in his eyes.

Copyright Suzanne Norton 2015