Lawrence Hall
Mhall46184@aol.com
Dispatches for the Colonial Office

               Why Do They Say He was Tragically Murdered?

Was anyone ever joyfully murdered?
Happily murdered?
Humorously murdered?
Gloriously murdered?

When at dusk a mist begins to rise
A sinister mist from across the fields
And you seem to perceive a malevolent being
Peering at you from the tree line dark -

Yes, something is watching you

It is not God-banished Grendel from Beowulf
Nor is it Nesferatu creeping up to you
Or a Haunt arising from a long-lost grave
It is something even more grotesque and obscene:

                                     An adverb