A Childhood Lost / 172 words

A Childhood Lost

The tumble-down stone wall
Invites me nearer
It is years since I have
Dared to stand before
this house
Dancing leaves perform
a show of swirling shadows,
Hypnotic silhouettes
Drawing me in.

I take one step towards
the uncared for, splintery door,
As though in tune with my mind
A vast, looming storm cloud
steals the sunlight from the air,
Leaving a vestige of a time
Long gone.

As I cross into the past,
I wonder if I should be here,
Light and darkness mingle,
Dotting the interior with
Sadness;
I loved this home,
I hated this prison,
I climb the creaking stairs,
One by one,
Feeling light headed,
Trepidatious,
I know I must do this
to regain
Control,
So I ascend
to the height of my
Fear
I am met with the hideous
Peek-a-boo shadows of
a childhood lost
I glance inside the
Dusky remnants of
The Room,
That is enough
I turn,
I leave.

Back outside
The suffocation ends
And light once more suppresses
Darkness.

172 words