tapping

the knocking sent shivers down her spine.
every night around two,
there was this tap, tap, taping
followed by a raking scratch
like claws torn across brittle wood.

every night it made her bolt upright
in bed,
this sound
that came somewhere
from within a newborn Hell.

and every morning
after sunrise
when she awoke,
she felt as if she hadn't
slept at all.

the night began to
terrify her.
just the thought of going to sleep,
and being awoke by
the torturous noise,
made her panic.

she tried sleeping in other places,
a friend's couch,
a hotel room. she even
tried sleeping in her car
one night,
but the sounds were persistent
wherever she slept.

sleeping pills did nothing
to remedy the knocks
and taps
and scrapes.

it was a few weeks later
when she concentrated on
the noise
that she realized
the sounds
were coming
from inside her,
under the rib cage,
rattling through her lungs.

and when her laughter came,
it never stopped,
not even in the padded cell
she called home.

tap
     tap
                    tap.