Night Watcher

When you get up in the middle of the night and you wander around tired and half blind, I am the one standing in that shadow, in the corner
Watching.
You may get a glimpse of me in the corner of your eye.
Did you see me smile?
Was that enough to frighten you?
Should I become whole and watch you scream and run?
Should my icy shadow arms reach out and grab you unawares as I walk by?
Mmmm, I would get off on that.
But perhaps no, I would let you go back to your bed.

You know that feeling of someone being behind you, but you just cannot turn around to see?
That would be me.

You enter your bed slightly more awake, your heart beating slightly more than usual.
When you enter your covers you feel safe.
You take a deep breath and shake your head,
“Silly girl, go back to bed.”
You then reach to turn off your bedside lamp but you hesitate,
There will be shadows then.
But reason has you turn it off anyway.
Eyes wide, adjusting to the dark, you scan the room.
Wait!
What’s that in the corner?
You shut your eyes tight, open them again and
I am still there.

“Oh my God, did it move?”
Of course I did.

Ohh, I can smell your fear and your cold sweat and I can feel the rapid beating of your heart.
It is better than any drug.
A car goes by lighting up my corner.
You sigh.
Softly chuckle.
It was only your chair with a coat on it.
Wasn’t it?

NO!
Again you chuckle to yourself and go back to sleep.
A very light sleep.
I am playing with you tonight.

It is not the house settling when you wake up to the sound of the floorboards creaking.
IT IS ME.

It is not the pipes in your walls rattling.
IT IS ME.

When you are certain that your curtain has just moved,
“But there is no breeze.”
NO! IT IS ME.

Again your heart will pound,
your mouth with go dry but if I know you
And I do
You will not get up to quench your thirst.
It would be unthinkable to leave the safety of your bed.

I go back to the shadowy corner and sit in that chair.
Did you hear me sigh?
Ah, yes, you did.
Delightful.
But now I am bored because sheer exhaustion from me playing with you has taken you to a land of slumber once again,
Would that I could truly enter your dreams.
But I will have to settle on your subconscious to know me and perhaps you’ll go down to that dark place and dream of me yet.

I sit and I wait, eating up the shadows.
Hoping that you will wake up again.
I will be patient.
We are always patient
There is always tomorrow night.