Shadows in the Dark

What are we really scared of?

Shadows dance silently in the hall,

cast by wind driven oak branches

that rack across the windows.

They leave dark traces of themselves

as blemishes on the pure light of the moon.

The stark silhouettes and entrancing shadows

are the only evidence that they are even there.

I wonder if the features of these living things;

the many tiny imperfections and knotted little sections,

and the deep or shallow scratches left by man and beast alike,

do they remain when there is no light for us to view them by?

When the sun disappears into its den to be replaced

by its forever caring and benevolent sister,

do the plainly cast details of reality remain?

Perhaps all that racks against the window

is the dark and sickly shape that you see,

and not the tree you believe is there.

We tell ourselves that the dark is safe,

that we cannot see only because of lacking light,

but for all the knowledge we have we are still afraid;

perhaps the dark and evil shadows are exactly what the seem.

Perhaps the house is not just settling and flexing in the cool night air.

Maybe things really do change in the dark like you believed as a child.

No matter what we tell ourselves; we will always fear the dark,

because deep down we know that when the sun retreats,

the that world we know so well disappears with it,

only to be replaced by that which horrifies us most;

all that lurks in the reaches of our imagination,

it is the dark that awakens our subconscious,

and lets lose our deepest and most hidden fears,

for all the creatures that lurk secretly in the dark,

it is our own thoughts which terrify us most of all.

Author's Note

tell me what you think.

Reviews

[just is]

I like it, it speaks of honesty, I can see the whole thing well wrote.

[John A Common]

I think it is very good. It tells a truth and paints an awesome picture. Great work.