I found it in the loft

In a dusty old chest

It whispered, come closer

Come get some rest

 

I made it to the bedroom

As slumber took my eyes

The blanket in a corner dark

Stifling long lost cries

 

I heard them in my dreams

A young girl's shallow wailing

I felt his hands around her throat

Under twilight slowly fading

 

I awoke to it upon my bed

Heaped, crumpled & creased

Like a weary old face

Of something long-since deceased

 

It's only a blanket

To myself, I kept saying

But, under my breath

I found myself praying

 

I tried to get up

But my body lay still

Every limb brushed

With icy fingers of chill

 

It began to unfurl

Creeping up to my throat

As muscle & flesh

Began to stiffen & bloat

 

I could no longer breathe

As it crept to my face

Cold pennies on eyes

For death's sweet embrace

 

***

 

I awake bleary eyed

In a room not of mine

Where flickering shadows

Dance not of my time

 

At a table sits a girl

The blanket keeps her warm

Opposite, sipping whiskey

The beast in human form

 

The atmosphere lies heavy

With stale sweat & ale

As I try to look beyond

This enigmatic veil 

 

I know what I must do

In this place of long ago

And, I pray this vengeful shroud

Will, then, let me go…