Abby the Stabby - 3

Falling and tumbling, alone in the black,

Expecting to meet the ground with a loud 'SMACK'

Screaming and flailing her arms in a panic,

Lungs full of fire, her breathing erratic --

She cries out for help, but there's no one around

Until Abby's ears hear a small ticking sound;

Something inside her (a chill down her spine)

Senses the ticking's a kind of deadline:

Her fear, like a rabbit that's trapped in a snare,

(Hoping for freedom, if but by a hare);

"Hurry," it stammers, "before it's too late!

There's no time to lose -- no time left to wait!"

And twitching its nose and clearing its throat,

It shows her the pocket watch deep in its coat.

Soon enough, Abby is falling more slowly

(Still frightened she's going to places unholy),

Memories and images pass in a blur --

Faster and louder than she would prefer;

Made more nightmarish within Abby's brain,

Innocence tainted by terror and pain:

Poor body battered, exhausted and scarred

(Keeping her head is becoming too hard),

No clue where she's falling to, where she will land

Or if it's a place she'll at least understand,

The noise and the imagery clouding her thinking,

Louder and bigger as if she is shrinking,

Down to no more than an inch tall (plus two),

"No more, or I'll vanish, and that wouldn't do!

I've no idea if I'm dead or sleeping..."

And with that, poor Abigail can't keep from weeping...

Her tears fall like rain in her psyche's dark pit;

An ocean of sorrow that forms, bit by bit,

Of exhaustion and misery, anguish and pain

As the ground rushes up like a runaway train,

She balls up her fists, and she takes a deep breath,

Preparing to land (or perhaps meet her death) --

While wide eyed and anxious, the rabbit (in fear)

Taps its white foot with a twitch of its ear --

"Oh dear -- we can't swim," it remarks with a shout,

An ocean's beneath us! We'll never get out!"

But Abby knows water is softer than stone

(She might not be hurt, might not break a bone);

"Plus, this whole ocean is sort of my fault,

But I should be fine (tears have plenty of salt),"

She remarks, curling into a ball (like an otter)

And plummets headfirst in the ocean of water.

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© Jackson Cambridge, 2016.