tucked into tepals

jolted awake
rare nightmare
of him
abusing me

it is dark
with my eyes open

i reach
for a hand-
held
screen

but there is
no one
there

i wait
for my body
to recover
and turn
to poetry

and on the roll
macro magnolia
photography

i think
i’ll crawl
right into
a tepal

and let
myself be tenderly held
awhile

Poem and image ©LauraDenise