Only In Sleep (Poetry)

I wish that I could weep —
let loose this dam of hurt that presses
hard against the floodgates of my heart.

I cry only in sleep
where my sobs are kept contained —
                                my quiet distresses
in the the domain of dreams
                                such rivers start.

Deep underground pain streams
and drowns me in those cold and lightless caves
in the dark alone — confused and half-ashamed

I’m choking back those screams
that might tell of madness — how the mind behaves
afraid that blood’s inherent weakness could
                                to some degree be blamed.