The Nightmare-A Response to the City of Beasts by Isabel Allende

The glass shatters and with a clatter, 
 breaks as if the earth is shaking.
My body’s sweating, 
and I’m not pretending, 
when I tell you I’m not faking.

But, there it was: a giant bird-
black, to say the least.
And, in its talons, 
 was my mother frightened.
My heart could barely beat.

The bird flew off into the sky-
a sky heavy with dark clouds.
I suddenly awoke, 
thanks to the thunder.
Thinking about the nightmare, 
that caused me to wonder.