Haunted

She wants to rest her weary soul,
she prays for a night of peaceful sleep-
wants to visit heavenly places
instead of the hellish visions she sees.

She's tried counting sheep, focused on happy thoughts,
even hoped to dream of love...
but the demons haunt her late at night-
jaw clenched, covered in sweat, she wakes up.

Often times she awakens in tears,
barely stifling a scream-
tortured by things she's never seen in reality,
wanting just one night of sweet dreams.

But when she closes her eyes and her mind takes over;
the bullets, blood, and gore start again.
She never understands the meaning behind them-
she only wants the nightmares to end.

Most people wish to dream of those they've lost-
they hope for visits from beyond at night.
But for her it's a curse to see the pain
of the people she's lost in her life.

They appear to her, filled with anguish,
with such deep sadness in their eyes.
She cries and begs and tries to talk to them,
yet still never gets to say goodbye.

Each day that she wakes she's exhausted;
carries on with a feeling of dread.
How do you move on and get on with your life
when your dreams are haunted by the dead?