Bleak House

On the day I was set to go shopping with Shane,
I walked through freezing winds and I knocked on his door.
A good neighbor was he, and he walked with a cane;
but when Shane did not come I felt anxiousness soar.

In I went as the timber door remained unlocked;
(that he lived by himself, all the neighborhood knew.)
I looked all ‘round the room and I once again knocked
as a chill in my spine plus uneasiness grew.

Having looked around every room of his Cape Cod,
I observed that his keys were on his easy chair.
With his Dodge in the drive I found all very odd;
on the back of my neck stood the rising of hair.

So I called out to Maize whom I knew was his cat;
Maize was silky fur ball, an atypical pet.
I bit part of my lip and I tugged at my hat
as this strange disappearance filled me with regret.

When a neighbor came by who was also concerned,
we again searched the house the back yard as well.
Yet when we searched the cellar, soon both of us learned
that the house we were in would become like a hell.

All the lights flickered madly, then power went out;
there were bellows from deep underground claiming now.
Every door slammed as one like an ear-piercing shout;
and before blacking out we both heard a meow.

We awoke in the dank of a cellar both stunned;
light was barely enough for outside shadow dance.
These were forces beyond our ken—we were outgunned;
super-nature unleashed barely gave us a chance.

Never mind we had been good Samaritans though;
we were now in the throes of some hideous trap.
Thoughts of Shane had now faded like ember’s weak glow;
it was now pure survival so placed in our lap.

Dark and eerie the dim light through glass block extant;
we were pressed to the cold as if under the sea.
Time had stuttered along during terror and rant;
such the price that we paid for the cost neighborly.

We were battered and bruised on that horrible night;
in the dark we cried out as our puzzlement grew.
Yet in all of the hell came a glimmer of light:
a silky black cat’s shadow was the only clue.



40 Lines
Writer’s Cramp Winner
2-19-20