In the Night

I wake in the night,
The darkest part of the night
Not knowing where I am
Not knowing who I am
My mind thinks I am a child
My mind believes my mom is somewhere nearby.
I wake in the night,
The darkest, loneliest part
Feeling as though I’m a little girl curled in bed
Under safe, warm blankets
Where someone tucked me safe and sound.
I wake in the night and I am afraid.
I wake in the dark of the night and gasp in fright.
I am confused. I am lost, lost in the years.
My years are lost.
Lost in time and space.
Where is here and now?
How did I get here? I do not know.
Minutes, moments later, I know where I am. But still:
How did I get here?
I am not the child.
I have grown children
I am alone in a big house.
In the darkest hours of the night
I am not a child, my mind realizes
All my children are grown and gone.
In the darkest hours of the night
There is no one here but me
And I am no longer frightened.

