Asleep, I Wake

Awake, my birthmarks are tattoos that I brag about

Asleep, they light up with a blinding, immortal glow

                                       as my being fills with its own power

Awake, I say the pledge of allegiance

Asleep, monarch wings protrude from my back

                     with the daintiness of a flower

                     but the strength of a hawk

Awake, I reluctantly wear sunglasses

Asleep, I AM the sun -

                            white fire radiates from me in a painless intensity