You can feel Him behind you

a black cat stalking a lizard with no tail

He is careful.

You can feel Him waiting

until you've peeped over each bony shoulder

left, clear.

as you would to cross a busy road

right, clear.

He is smart, you know

when you have dropped your guard

you stand alone in piles of monochromatic laundry,

all black.

Sunlight creeps in through

your smoke-stained-yellow blinds

creating diagonal stripes across your collar

bones, you feel your chest rise and fall.

He plans his attack,

you're too busy counting,

one - two - three

beams of sunlight,

four - five - six

dust particles sparkling

within the thin strips of light

coming through your smoke-stained-yellow blinds.

He jumps

grabs at your ankles with icy fingers

you shiver.

He constricts – the hungry snake

He is

squeezing you – the rat for dinner

until you writhe no more

and then He creeps all the way,

squeezing hard around your slim waist,

holding down goose-bumped-arms,

sliding up to your throat

soon it’s only you.

You.

Your smoke-stained-yellow blinds.

And Silence Himself.