Fear Hides Vacent Eyes Poem by Thomas Bates

by Thomasjbates

Fear hides vacant like a ghost.
Fear avoids daylight and cobwebs, always.
When forced into daylight's hum
of afternoon hours,
It elongates, and thus encourages
Frightened shadows along sidewalks
To stretch
Until gaunt, growing emaciated.

And so, adverse forms of sickly trees
Like 35 mm film negatives
Are caught reaching in a Godless extinction -
existent, yes, although
uncomfortable and out of place
(Like my mind today) .

Stars revolve around the earth
While at night,
Inside of safety
That's more like a trap,
Feet fall (hesitant...muffled
trailing along the carpeted
steps of the stairwell.
Macabre victims decend, intent
On following 'masters'' instructions;
occupying
basements in dysfunction
beneath southern households -
following
unspoken orders.

Time freezes after hours -have you heard it?
(Have you sensed the standstill of your own blood?)
Familiar forms twist
w/ the changing temperature. Hear them
take such strange shapes unto themselves
And then impress subtle terror
into a sudden calm!
It was another wind-tempest night...

...when I imagined it for what
It was, With the help of a long and peaceful dream.
In the morning I left the place Id slept
And drew open the shades
of my living room.
I was touched
By something almost magical, but real,
And this was enough
To bring a smile to my face.