disturbed by nasty dreams
i refused to give up my right 
thumb and the silk-edged blanket
that balanced my left; i’d wet
the bed and wake myself 
with screams, slide into
the bottom of mommmydaddy’s
bed, feel the soles of their feet
press against my face and side

these scenes of early fright
i know to be true but the words
for them come from further in,
from the light and space
that anyone who digs 
in the dark needs

as the age of monsters and ghosts
receded and i gave thumb back
to hand and slept the night alone,
soon there came the mortal fear  
of what the priest and nuns brought
along: original sin