A Full Moon In October

A glow of moon lights the grey forest floor,
As you walk on to your home.
You think to yourself about warmth,
Think to yourself about love,
Think to yourself about far away dreams,
Think about sleeping in your bright, fluffy-bed,
And think about . . .

snap

A lightly cracked twig is enough for your thoughts to muddle a bit.
You remember the stories,
Of people killed in the woods,
Of people killed by animals,
And
by
other
people.

You quicken your pace,
Like good people should,
And you think about rapes,
And of crimes on T.V. ,
And you start to sweat,
(just a little bit though).

But the trees and the moon,
Seem so bright on this night,
And the forest is quiet . . .

So you stop for a moment,

Near a tree for a moment,

To catch your breath for a moment,

And stop the panic for a moment.

The moonlight subsides,
As the autumn clouds shift,
and
then
you
freeze . . .

Can’t step forward.
Can’t turn your head.
Can’t even really breath because,
Out of the corner of your eye,
You
can
see
us
in
the
shadows.

You can’t move.

Through the silence
You can hear
our raspy growl.
Your mouth is dry.
Your skin is pale.
And you dare not turn your head.

We move slowly closer . . .

You now can feel a warm, dog-like breath on the back of your neck.
We are behind you.
We can smell you.
We can almost taste you.

Do you sense the dancing hunger beneath our yellowed eyes?

But you are brave tonight,
You feel strong tonight,
And so, in one fantastic moment,
One amazingly heroic moment,
You leap ahead and run.
You run so very fast.
Faster than you ever have!

We lunge at you.

We miss.

And you run ahead with the power of fear,
With the desire to stay alive.
So very very fast.
You can hear us behind you,
But you run
And run
And run
And then . . .

You can see the edge of the forest!

You can see the clearing near your house!

You run even faster,
Faster than you ever believed you could,
You're almost at the clearing!
Almost made it home!
You realize you are crying,
as you run
and run
and run.
And
as
you're
almost
out . . .

You stumble.

Throw

out

your

hands

to

catch

yourself

but . . .

It doesn’t matter now.

In the end, we were faster.
In the end we were stronger.
In the end
you didn’t
make it
home.