Before

"Fear not," says he,
"as your dawn breaks."
And their eyes, yet closed,
outline the contours of their lucid dream,
a conceived nature of innocence a cloud in their wake.
He disappears from view
leaving them small, alone.
For now they know
they are to weep,
quake,
laugh,
love.
Yet still they know nothing.
And so the veil is lifted,
as they whisper through clenched teeth that they are not afraid.