Written by Darlene Glover 

A subtle whisper across my cheek,

faint as a butterfly wing

interrupts a dream.

Half-asleep, I brush off this whisper,

only to feel something scurry

into my ear, my hair and my bed.

Instantly awake, scrabbling to my feet

thrashing the linens

for the arachnid of my phobias.

Heart hammering, yammering invectives

into the blackened night, searching for the light

to reveal a feather,

freed from my pillow.

Despite  a self-deprecating laugh,

there’ll be no more sleep tonight.