As daylight ends and Twilight comes,
I don my gown of sleep,
As nightly Choir drones and hums
With voices soft and deep.
Through my window's open shutter,
Symphony I hear,
Carried forth by breeze aflutter,
Hymns distinct and clear.
Queen of Silver wears her crown
In Palace high and sable,
Smiling upon the town
As in a child's fable.
Into bed I choose to climb,
Ready now to rest,
To sleep as all must at this time,
For dreams to manifest.
Soon the slumber takes its hold
Over my frame and eyes;
Around the cloth my fingers fold,
My breathing steady sighs.
As I lay content and still,
A fog enters my room,
Expanding, with an eerie chill,
Its netherworldly gloom.
Clouds obscure the Moonlight throne,
Rendering her dim.
In my sleep, I stir and moan,
My dreams abruptly grim.
Towards me creeps the onyx mist,
Gliding with a grace,
And wraps its tendril round my wrist;
My heart quickens its pace.
With a jolt I then awaken,
Drenched in icy sweat,
Knowing not why I am shaken,
Nor of what I fret.
Cautiously, upright I sit,
My bare feet on the floor,
And look around the room unlit,
My sight in darkness poor.
I stand and stumble through the murk,
Trepid, cold and blind,
Anxious of whate'er may lurk
Before me or behind.
With violence I start to tremble,
Overwhelmed with panic,
For the air doth now resemble
Something quite satanic.
Then, amidst the silence drear,
Whispered is my name,
Paralyzing me with fear
And stiffening my frame.
Here Moon sheds her ebon veil,
Her light void of affection.
I look o'er and turn gravely pale
At my mirror's reflection.
A silhouette, deformed and cruel,
The looking glass reveals,
A sinister and horrid ghoul
Lingering at my heels.
My blood freezes within my veins,
The air suddenly colder,
As my strength the spirit drains,
Its tendril on my shoulder.
In agony I scream and cry
As tears begin to fall,
Terrified that I will die
Within a monster's thrall.
Clemency I am denied
Even when released,
For nowhere can I ever hide
From the malicious beast.
Forevermore now I am daunted,
Destined to decay,
Hereafter by my shadow haunted,
Till in earth I lay.