SHE WALKS ALONE
Sounds of the night call forth
Goading her out of her safe haven
Into another realm of torment.
Darkness reaches out to engulf her;
It's twisted appendages grasp her youthful limbs,
Choking the very breath from her lips
Pulling her downward until despair even seems hopeless.
In the far away past she tries to remember
Another time when this torment
Didn't have quite so strong a hold.
But even the brightest light of the day has a dim side
Which only turns darker as the night progresses
Till every breath she draws leaves her in a cold sweat.
� Rosalia A. Hendrix