The threat of doom herself

Sat upon my chest

Squirming with glee

Enjoying the rhythmic

Pounding

And the furious gallop

Of my rapidly beating heart

As fear lashed it with a whip

Still faster it went

My throat refused to function

Feeling the squeeze of her icy grip

I gasped as I sat bolt upright

Screeching protest seemed to fill my ears

Yet I could not be sure anything was truly there

How could something so heavy

Be so weightless

And disappear without a sound?

Trembling I stole a look around

But the darkness disabled any vision

From my nervous eyes

Surely this could not be

I leapt from the bed where

My lover and I lay

No sleep within that wretched room

The dog of the departed

Lay beside her master’s bed

Where my lover and I

Attempted to rest our weary heads

I said, “I’m getting out of here.”

I flung the door wide open

And sought refuge in the

Still dark morning hours

I was joined by my love

Who tried hard to console me

(Yet I was not sure it was me

That she was trying to convince)

We just tried to make it all make sense

In the lavender before dawn

At the edge of the woods

Suddenly animals warned us

Of their presence near where we stood

I found it odd to hear the challenge

Of bucks snorting from the brush

Not just one, but many

And they did not run away

My courage weakened further

As I looked towards the sky

Above the trees I saw

The ever changing shape of evil

Looking down upon us

Like a black swirling cloud of smoke

Hanging in the treetops

Or maybe a silk black shroud rippling in the wind

I looked away in disbelief

But as my eyes returned

I saw it there again

A battle of energy ensued

My lovers eyes met mine and I knew she saw it too

Our minds reeling from terror

We embraced, shaking

And focused to resist

Tried not to stare

We whispered to each other

Joining in quiet prayer

Tears streaming

We tried not to acknowledge what was there

The power was too great to ignore

The form changed its shape

Hovering in the breeze

Which blew branches in circles

Yet it never left its spot

We waited for the sun

And I squeezed my love tighter

As from the doorway

Of the departed’s bedroom

Her lonely dog began to howl and bay

Unexplained lights began to flicker

And bells from nowhere

Chimed the arrival of the light of day

We found our cases packed

My keys were in my waiting bag

Something seemed to hiss

“You’re not welcome here”

We left silently and quickly

Vowing never to return

And in my rearview mirror

I saw the dark spirit descend

Just as that place began to burn

We sped out of that town

For three hundred miles

We never spoke a word

We never made a stop

And now we only hope

These haunting dreams will cease

And that the spirit of the departed

Will somehow find her peace