On the crest of the hill

 

Stands the nightmare tree No green leaves Only two bare branches Only one battered, swollen Bruised fruit Flesh crushed beyond recognition I flee back To indoors, to safety But the screams Still pierce the windows Where is the door To escape this terror There—an opening I run through, desperate…   The base of the hill Where the nightmare tree’s Odor of death Fill my nostrils Stinging my eyes Fleeing back To welcoming walls While wails echo back Escape, escape— A door opens Into the darkness…   Halfway up the hill of the nightmare tree Blood stains the grass Underfoot I turn, tumbling down the hill In my haste to escape The looming shadows Of the nightmare tree Through the door Into another darkness…   I stand at the foot of the nightmare tree Staring at bloody feet And bony, broken knees Terror seizes my heart Sweat streaks my forehead My throat swells in agony I knew all doors Would lead me back To the nightmare tree   There is no escape   I stare at the sky At the rough twin branches Hung with humanity’s horrors Depths of loss Heights of evil Veils of blindness Covering men’s eyes   For a moment The man on the tree Looks down at me As I gaze up at him Our eyes Meet And I see Enough joy Overflowing, abundant To set the sternest Wildly giggling Like men gone mad With new-found hope And I see A gate swinging open To welcome me home A path to escape The terror Of the nightmare tree   Inspired by the Adventures in Odyssey episode “Return to the Imagination Station.”