he would lie on the cliffs

  the forbidding peaks,
  dark and sinister, reaching out
  rousing the old

  horror loomed
  whose boundaries no prophet might fix,
  leaping through open windows at night

  the most grotesque deaths
  had been reported —

  but this
  was not the dense pall
  of mystery —

he had turned,
could no longer be restrained — Hope
fell through the cyclone-whipped dark

  foliage wilted

  all that survived
  had to be shot

On a night, dark and dreary,
I mused, wearily.
Whatever was I to do
With it watching me?

Wings as black as night,
Ink dripping, feathers like knives.
It has eyes like stars
In a somber, summer sky.

It turned its head and trilled,
Exactly 13 times.
Each note an alarm of distress
Inside my plagued mind.

It was here for me.
It shuffled its black feathers
And unfurled its dark wings,
Showing nothing but a heart.

This heart, my life, my ever-
Changing tune. This song
Began lively, crescendoing.
Ending with a thump.

I watched it falter.
I stared at it and counted.
I got to thirteen,
And then I watched as it stopped.

I saw you
How could I not
You capture the presence-
Of everything in the room
You did not see me.

You smiled at a waitress,
A stranger no less
I saw you mouth your order,
Something about a coffee.

I watched how you stirred your sugar,
Into the coffee you just ordered.
I knew you would, you always do
You still didn't notice,
I was two booths away.

You clean up in a way-
I've never seen anyone do,
Stacking the plates underneath the cup
Making it neat, but forgetting your umbrella
You'll come back for it soon, so I wait

I followed you home and learned your way
I already know how you like your meal
How you have your eggs
Or how you hum softly-
comforting yourself.

I appeared where you went
Our eyes haven't met yet
But I know you,
Yet you don't know I exist.

The interior in your house is neat
You clean nicely and well
You leave a light on,
On the porch so people know-
That you are home.

You leave the window cracked,
Ever so slightly,
It's enough for me but you do it
Like a clock stuck on repeat.

When you sleep it's so peaceful,
Your soft breathing like no harm will come
I'll try to protect you the best I can
But I can't get too close,
I like to watch from afar,
But close enough to know you.

You don't know me,
But I know you,
I'm not dangerous,
Just devoted to you,
And only you.