Poems by Ann D. Stevenson

I hear a muffled creak,
is that those old oak floors?

I see some dancing shadows,
ghostly flickerings on the walls.

Then there is a tapping noise,
rattling the window pane.

Next there is a dripping sound,
I hope that's just the rain!

I'm startled by a piercing shriek,
perhaps it is an owl?

A bit of peace, then I hear
a creature start to howl.

Now there is a scuffling noise,
up above my head.

Rustling, seems quite close
right now - is it on my bed?

Uncanny sounds unnerving me,
I really feel uptight.

I can't sleep now, I'm wide awake,
I'll just switch on the light.

I wasn't there to say goodbye,
to reminisce of times gone by.

I wasn't there to make you smile,
to tell old stories, laugh awhile.

I wasn't there to talk of fun,
the happy times in life's long run.

I wasn't there to share the years,
those times of happiness and tears.

I wasn't there to hear your fear
of leaving those you held so dear.

I wasn't there to feel your pain,
you knew we'd never meet again.

I wasn't there to hold your hand
when you parted from this land.

I wasn't there to share our love,
before you joined the stars above.

I wasn't there, I shed a tear.
In my heart you're always there.

Once I glimpsed another world,
gilded streams of light unfurled,
incandescent trails of wonder
blew my present world asunder.

A gold ethereal sphere above,
a transcendental world of love,
beckoned me, called me to stay,
so close, but I was drawn away.

A tug of human hearts and hands
brought me back to known lands,
perpetual memories in my mind,
another world so nearly mine.

A glass of wine nearby, he sat,
his spaniel beside him on the grass,
he flicked away a solitary wasp,
a buzzard circled overhead.

He watched both bird and insect
they were clearly to be seen,
unlike the predator within,
which lurked inside his bones.

Relaxed, he drank the wine,
a reminder of foreign climes,
snow slopes skied in Méribel,
boating trips on French canals.

Happy times, now long gone,
wine imbibed, creatures flown,
his empty glass caught the light
before the sun went down.