Content Warning: Contains themes of industrial trauma, panic, and PTSD.

Dark Poetry Prompt: “A dream that refuses to end”

The Vengeance Sleep: A Dream That Refuses to End

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Prologue: The Vengeance Sleep

Years ago, in the factory’s relentless rhythm,
I slipped into the track that carried chassis frames.
Hips caught in the narrow opening, 
I was held fast by the steel jaws.
The machinery moved with indifference,
and I felt the shadow of death descending.
By chance, I tore free before the frame arrived —
but the dream of that moment refuses to end.

A Dream That Refuses to End

The dream that refuses to end,
A nightmare that will not fade away.
In this scenario, I never escape;
Death pursues, but there’s no exit.
It’s on a never-ending loop,
Where shadows stretch and whispers creep.
I try to stay awake to keep it at bay,
Yet vengeance waits, returning
The instant I collapse to sleep.

I scream, but silence is my only reply,
A cruel joke played by the darkness.
It feeds on the feelings of inadequacy,
That I couldn’t stop it from happening,
The moment I had no control
Over what was happening to me.

The track becomes a coffin’s frame,
Each echo chanting out my name.
The weight of frames above my head,
A prophecy of certain dread.
I thrash against the dream’s command,
Yet sink like stone in shifting sand.
The nightmare feeds, it will not cease,
It binds me fast, denying peace.

The Final Loop

I wake, drenched in sweat,
Not remembering that it happened long ago.
And I wonder if time has truly passed,
Or if this is still the night after.

—Tina Marie