By: Kimberly Potter Kendrick

My mind, body weary
Fitful sleep night after night
I hear her calling me
Unable to determine from whence comes her voice
Echoing through my mind
Through tall weeds I thrust
Against the current I swim
I hear the faint voice
Switching directions I call out her name
Abruptly, I awaken drenched with sweat
Head pounding
Nightmare so real I question,
“Where is she? Is she trapped? Hurt? Lost?”
Restlessly I attempt to sleep
Meager intervals of time elapse
Eyes open, glancing at the clock
Minute by minute the night crawls
Before dawn, moments of slumber dissipate
Left with her voice consuming my thoughts
Attempts to abandon the nighttime vision fruitless
Perhaps this evening the dream resumes
Appear her face, my hand intertwines with hers
My heart will rest easy if she I can discover
Aching will perish
My soul tranquil
Ten o’ clock arrives, pulling my quilt to my chest, shutting my eyes
I hear her voice distinctly, “Help me…”
Anxiously, I search
I find not her
Jolted awake as previous nights, immersed with dread.

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Kimberly lives in the Tampa Bay Area of Florida with her young adult son. Her daughter and two grandsons live nearby. Her family is her heart. Kimberly is passionate about writing, painting, and swimming. She also loves to travel. Kimberly has also been published in the Southern Cross Review, Piff Magazine, and contributed an essay to the book Project Semicolon Your Story Isn’t Over.