Walking Home
Walking down a darkened street, I freeze
A footstep behind me chills my blood
I swallow
Should I turn?
Can I turn
To confront this softly stepping stranger?
A second step
A soft sly scrape of leather on concrete
And suddenly I’m running
Heart pounding so fast
It’s a wonder it doesn’t explode
Throat burning
Lungs heaving
A cramp in my side brings me to my knees
Again the sound of a footstep assails my ear
Please, no, I whimper
A curtain of tears blind my eyes as I look up
There is no one there
I weep with gratitude
Thank god, thank god, I murmur in my mind
Praying to a lord I do not believe in
Nor have no love for
I clamber to my feet
Relieved that the danger is past
I turn to go and a shadow looms before me
A man in black
Broad shouldered
And long of leg
A man so monstrously big
A hand grabs for my throat
Fingernails dig into my flesh
And he draws me near
So close I can smell the spices on his breath
"Pretty, pretty doll"
He whispers in my ear
"Can I play with you?"
He lifts me off the ground
And carries me towards the leering mouth of a dark and hungry alley
The shoes slip from my feet as I kick at him
And clatter to the ground
The only other sound heard that night
Is the scream that splits my lips
As the darkness gobbles me whole
