In the Dream, I Died / Susan Earlam

Once the door was slamming
Now I have a wire full of birds
Once sleep escaped me
Now we're gonna be dancing around
Once I longed to let them in
Now I won't give these moments back
Once I had a familiar across my teeth
Now I have a friend for life
Once I longed for a garden
Now I despise these earthly delights
Once there was a stranger within me
Now I'm home to many
Once there were cascades of shadow
Now there is rolling thunder
Once sat the head of a leopard
Now a phoenix contemplates the dark
Once the mist crept up the wall outside my bedroom
Now it gropes, spreading within me
Once the red flowed like water from a tap
Now it congeals and ties itself around my bones.

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Since 2010, Susan has written for a wide variety of media outlets. But, the call of the strange and unusual has grown irresistible. Now, she mixes words like potions at her laptop in South Manchester. Currently, looking for an agent for her first novel, she procrastinates by writing shorter, and weirder, stuff. Website: susanearlam.com