Leviathan

Twas night
And I was dreaming
And in my dream I woke
Submerged in water
And for a moment I panicked
For I feared I would drown
But I breathed as freely in the water
As I would on land
The water around is blue
But deepens and turns black in the distance
I look up
The water seems endless
As if a hundred thousand leagues stood between me and the surface
 
I feel a shifting in the water
And I turn to stare into the darkness
I see nothing
So I turn my face away
The water shifts again
It’s stronger this time
I turn to the darkness once more
There is something in the deep
And it’s coming towards me
I can barely make it out
But it seems large
The closer it comes; the more the creature seems to grow
By the time I can make it out
My mind can no longer comprehend its size
 
This creature, this monster, is enormous
It is a madman’s nightmare
A biblical monstrosity rendered in flesh and bone and scale
Its eyes are slitted like a snake’s
And glow a dull gold
Bony spikes follow its spine
The smallest, large enough to skewer a ship
It opens its mouth
From its gaping maw, the stench of death comes upon me
I see rows of teeth
Each with a razor edge
Large enough to tear even whales to pieces
 
I shake myself out of my stupor
And begin to swim
With each push, I feel my muscles straining
But the ache is worth it
With each pull, I see the sun become ever brighter in the distance
Hope glows within me
Perhaps the surface is closer than I thought
If only I can reach it then I will be safe
From the nightmare behind me
I strain myself further, arms reaching out
I can feel the surface approaching
I am almost there
I see safety just beyond my fingertips
 
And suddenly
I see no more