Look into my face and my eyes will

 More than that I’ll make you

I’ll slash and I’ll

and cut another hole in your mask.

And go around and make you scream.

Then I’ll make you jump.

And then you’ll trip over a bump.

The sun beats down on the snow-covered Colorado peak. Two birds have a lengthy conversation, chirping short replies at one another like two young children arguing over who was first in line. Marmots run and play chase, screeching often out of frustration or to mock the opposition.

Mr. Raney was always a favorite of ours. Our neighborhood is one of the loveliest neighborhoods around. When he first moved in everyone breathed a sigh of relief because he moved into the ugliest and most neglected house on the street. We expected great things from him.

Staring into a vast,

 black emptiness

 counting sheep-1, 2, 3...

 Consciously lying under

 the matted black blanket,

 Until all consciousness

 has been lost out to sea.