I shall soon begin my second life
in pursuit of the whispering dead
they've anxiously awaited my unraveling
from the daily drone I dread

my spirit stirs to their mournful pleas
or excites in their playful jests
I sigh as she warms to my blood
in my half sleep her soul rests

they know me as they know their own
they find comfort within these walls
my energy is theirs to take
to walk these earth bound halls

it can be hours of silence
I strain to hear above it
adjusting the headphones
the small voices that hide between the wind
and the settling of the house
the leaves jostling about
brushing the roof
I push myself to continue
whispered footsteps from upstairs
birds greeting the yet unlit morning
this house is alive
with the dead who remain
and when I am about to succumb
to the blur of exhaustion
the child comes through...
'Mommy!'
not once, but multiple cries
the sadness and fear in her voice
is palpable
and I am helpless to help her

how many hundreds of years has this child
repeated her cries
in this house
in this room
refusing to leave
still searching for her mother

I am a moonlight merchant,
of myself
My flesh knows of no taboo
Entertainer of thoughts
A stage of satin sheets in darkened rooms, engaged with a red lipped, half grin
Keeping my secrets held aloft,
my dreams,
float with the tobacco smoke of my patrons
Where lies your smile?
He asks, as he loosens my bound curls so he can pull them in the art
I reply with another red, half grin
Thinking my smile was lost in the silken river of never
He removes his tye with nimble fingers, intending it as my chain
His eyes are ravenous wolves, making of me a lamb
I turn my face, and think of innocence drowned in twilight

bitterness shrieks through the alleyways
sadness hovers like a fog
the raging plea of hopelessness
reaches through the drunken screams
and tears at the soul of the child
who hears so clearly
waiting for the shadows to lift
waiting for the screams to succumb
to quiet cries
waiting for the Sun