my head is pounding like the cymbal in the hands of a little monkey

so many things in my head

some light and airy

others dark and foreboding

sleep is going to be long in coming tonight my love

if it comes at all

i heard footsteps in the hallway

yet here i lay all alone

the ghosts of some fickle flame extinguished before it’s time

drawn to me by the blood on my hands and the ache in my hollowed out chest

perhaps i slipped into slumber and dreamt of heavy footsteps

but that doesn’t explain the howls

doesn’t explain them at all

so i here i lay wrapped in my familiar cocoon

hoping the scent of woodsmoke and longing doesn’t draw the spirit nearer to my huddled form

i’d investigate

but i’ve seen that movie once or twice

know how it ends

so i’ll lay here shivering in the warm room

and try not jump at any shadows

why’d i have to sharpen the knives in the kitchen this evening

and why does the metallic scraping sound persist

i’m not alone in this empty room

feel eyes on me from the darkness

staring at me

waiting for me to drift off into the aether so it can pounce

make it quick i try to sound unafraid as the words fall off a fear heavy tongue

end it already you bastards

there’s nothing more you can take away that i haven’t already lost

have at thee vile phantasm

you’ll find no great feast in this bitter rind

no satisfaction from feasting on entrails already rotting from the inside out

the joke’s on you

all the good meat was stripped from this walking carcass years ago by demons with pretty eyes and soft hands

let me sleep and wait until i’m happy again

i’ve got all night