Tossing and turning in bed, running a fever,
Nightmarish reveries of being pursued by Sauron’s
All-seeing-eye, chased by murderous orc soldiers
And hideous Nazgul dive-bombing me.
Besieged by the forces of Sauron and Saruman,
An unholy alliance attacking the defenders of civilisation -
Humans, hobbits, dwarves and elves -
Upholding the liberty and values of Middle-Earth.
Scuttling gigantic arachnid Shelob hunting me down
In her lair, Smaug the dragon exhaling hell-fire,
Evil Gollum metamorphosing into images of advancing Daleks,
Cybermen, Triffids – all-embracing, crushing life out of me -
Green Death spreading, infecting, like anthrax.
Jolted into disorientated consciousness as
My ramshackle bed part-collapses under me
In the rundown tenement flat,
And my mobile disappears between the cracks,
Prompting full-scale rescue mission, adrenalin pumping,
Prelude to another bad day in Stobswell, Dundee.