a cold night..
the darkness acts like a cloak
hiding what lurks there..
as a cold wind blows from the east

noises could be heard, a tree creaking
the lone hoot of an owl, startled by
something..not seen, yet felt

moving, or was that stumbling forward
dredging up images from a thousand
old horror movies, a thousand evil things
doom slowly, searching coming ever closer

fear, becomes real, even a grown man, can
fear, the imagined demons hidden, yet ever
nearer
up ahead, a silhouette of grave stones, carved
out of the surrounding dark, by a full moon
lighting just the outline of the stones

moving forward, the gate, a boundary between
life and the dead, swung open calling to enter,
life a flickering ember, to be extinguished in
an instant, the dead beckoning, their quiet calls
heard with a quaking heart, the stark terror
one can only experience when you stand on the
precipice between the two worlds.

entering death’s domain, you will encounter remnants, memories still present
there
ghost, demons and things that aren’t either
on all hallows eve, they move in the shadows
lurking, waiting to encounter the living, to
possess it, their light is gone, so they crave it

like a drug, they chase, touch, called to it and pursue
it, lost in the moment , moving further into the cemetery, chasing you’re own demons,
the mausoleums rise before you, a dark presence
leviathans of stone and loss, places empty and dark

you muse the meaning, when finally the shadow that
followed you, steps from between the structures of death, standing still, face hidden, every stalking monster, ran through you’re mind as you stand frozen
on the verge of madness, every fear laid bare in that moment

you move forward, legs moving of there own accord, not of conscious thought, you had to face it, you had to
know, regardless of your fate,
now, only a few feet separate you from the dark protagonist , his wide brimmed hat keeping his face
in shadows,
Slowly, raising it’s head until his eyes met your’s, and
finally the face of your personal demon, it’s visible,laid bare now
the monster is,
you.

An Original Poem by H.R. Beebe