The Nightly Menace Poem by Marilyn Shepperson

You wake at ten past midnight
To the sound of muted laughter
And above the ghostly noise
You are certain that you heard
Your name clearly whispered
The curtains waft in a breeze
That was never really there
Then there's a sharp click
As a door is closed downstairs
That you know was closed before
For you had locked up everything
Before the time of retiring
To your bedchamber for the night
But now you're fully wide awake
And you hold your breath to hear
Footsteps coming loudly up the stairs
Every floorboard seems to groan
Beneath the weight of unseen feet
That stop just outside the bedroom door
Yet the doorknob never turns
And nothing tries to enter
Your heart is pounding painfully
You reach for the bedside lamp
But you find the bulb has blown
And all you have to see by
Is the soft shine from the street light
That only makes the shadows
Seem to smile knowingly
Then suddenly you find the courage
To rise up from your bed
You fumble to put your slippers on
Yet you scorn your robe
For knowing deep inside
That it offers no protection
You walk to the door; throw it wide
Everything now falls silent
As if waiting to see what you will do
And what you do is go downstairs
To open up every room
And check most cautiously
To find there's no-one there
Yet the moment you return to bed
And try to settle down
As sleep approaches oh so slowly
It all starts up again