IN A RECENT DREAM, I MET STEPHEN KING
He said he loved one of my poems, so I asked him which one. He responded, “The one about dying.” I told him he’d have to be more specific. He smiled and quoted the following, which I’d never written:
SCABBARD
A knife sinks
in my chest
a little
every day.
My flesh gives
to the blade
and whets it
on the way.
I don’t fear
the descent
or hurry
what I say—
A knife sinks
in my chest
and sharpens
all it may.
—from Rattle #78, Winter 2022
__________
Joshua Eric Williams: “Dreams sometimes spark my poems. A snippet of a haiku or a line of poetry will enter my dreamworlds, but I’d never had one come to me mostly formed until I met Stephen King in the dream I describe in this piece. Apparently, he also loves a formal poem. If I ever have the privilege of meeting the master of horror, I hope this true story inspires him as much as it inspired me.” (web)
