Some nights

She wears the face of a jackal.
She smiles the teeth of sharks.

She claws her way in:
her talons, that of a dragon,
seven colors,
severing
my innards
with curious tenderness.

Her eyes--slit,
looking me in the eye,
sing a lispy lullaby.
I, her smitten prey,
oscillate in the confusion
of a dream, a nightmare.

My eyes, tar-black,
emotions leaching out,
look into hers--slit,
and hear the lullaby
for what melody
it could be.

Some nights,
dreams just don't want to be told apart
from fantastic nightmares.