In the Dark

Nighttime habits hum along as usual,
clock ticking,
AC running,
you snoring.
Nothing sinister crawls in the shadows
of the murky hallways
softly lit by the little nightlight.
Nothing smiling leans over you
with burning eyes
that watch you as you sleep.
Nothing frightened cries out to warn you
of the hungry creatures outside
clawing to get in.
Nothing unholy pulls at your sheets,
eager to expose you to the haunted air.

Then the power goes off.
The soothing habits of the nighttime shut down.
Darkness surrounds you,
revealing what is really there;
you hear it, you feel it, you now know it:
evil stalks you in the dark.

Cynthia Pitman is a retired high school English teacher who recently began writing again after a 30-year hiatus. Her first book of poetry, The White Room, is forthcoming from Kelsay Books.

Find more by Cynthia Pitman in the Author Index.

Comment on this story in the Aphelion Forum

Return to Aphelion's Index page.