Detergent

At night alone do I suffer awake,
A tod of four and less than four feet tall.
I hear the tile floor of the kitchen thud,
Thudding, gentle scraping, akin to cloth.

Curious I peek in, horror seizes me:

Both foreign and familiar this was,
Amassed clothing balled up into living,
The creature hurt my psyche to observe,

Sadly my eyes wander downwards, I see
My mother is held by this pile of clothes
A slew of laundry that moves and breathes fast,
Engulfing my mother in the darkness.
Her body disappearing into clothes

The view was dizzying, it perplexed me
My vision bent, my body now frozen
All I could do was watch, I watched.

I cried hard in my sleep, wet face and sheets.

I never told my mother my nightmare,
I did not need more security in my bed,
I only loved her more as any child should
Because I could always lose my mother
To the darkness I do not understand.