When you awake to find
your arms covered in bats
do not panic. There may be
forty beady-eyed mammals
with sharp teeth crawling under
the sleeves of your night shirt,
but they have warm, fuzzy, fur bodies.
They’ve been watching you
all your life coming and going
in your more or less unchanged
routines. If they could, with their
little suckling mouths, they would
say, It’s time for a change, that’s all.
So, rise from your bed,
hold your fear under your skin,
gently, but quickly step outside,
raise your arms in the burgeoning dawn
and let them go. Let them lift off
and if necessary, it’s ok
to give your arms a little shake,
a little shimmy, to get the last few bats
out from under your sleeves.
They’ll be grateful, you’ll be ready.
Close your eyes then; you can hear
the spirits whisper and sigh.
Bat Dream
