Might Soon Be Set Upon - Oct 14 2025

 

Might Soon Be Set Upon

Oct 14 2025



A full moon

ducks behind scudding clouds.

In the sudden darkness

I feel exposed,

as if light alone

could offer protection.

There’s a rustling in the woods,

a furtive scurrying

through the crisp fall leaves.

I imagine a small animal

armed with tooth and claw

and lightning speed,

making up for its size

in fierce aggression.

A low creaking rings out,

like rusty-hinges

scraping back-and-forth.

My shoulders tense,

as if a heavy door 

will slam shut behind me;

despite my intuition

it’s just wood-on-wood,

a fallen snag

in the crux of a branch

and rocking in the gusts.

The bird, calling at night

has a sinister undertone;

what business has a creature of flight

in this impassable dark?

As we walk, the sound seems to follow us,

as if we’re being watched

might soon to be set upon.

Are those dogs

howling in the distance?

  . . . Or wolves?

I strain to hear,

almost sure

the sound is edging closer.

I walk uneasily

sensing danger all around.

While the dogs are oblivious,

darting into the woods

and barking at shadows,

dashing after scent 

noses glued to the ground.

Trails so faint, I can’t imagine how,

but this is their super-sense

and all day long

they swim in smell.

So why this anxiety?

Why is every sound a threat?

Is it me

 — my paranoid streak

and nervous disposition —

or are we unwanted here?

Intruders

as the creatures of night

emerge from their ungodly lairs

to perform their secret rituals

engage in life and death?

Trees loom up on either side,

dark, and impenetrable.

A chill runs down my neck.

I call the dogs to come

and double my pace.