The Creature In the Darkness

Follow the forest path if you dare
Winding away without a care
Through darkness lit only by fireflies
The moon has only begun to surface
And this magic taking place has a dark purpose
Drawing you in, as you realize

You walk in, trancelike and dreaming
But as you continue, the darkness is seeming
To grow darker in the sylan wood
You begin to surmise, maybe
That you wouldn’t just be acting like a baby
If you went back while you still could

In a flicker of dark surprise
The monster appears before your eyes
Strikes you down in fury and rage you didn’t see coming
Before the darkness claims you
And before your end is due
You cry out, and you feel your senses numbing

When they went out searching
All they saw perching
Was a sparrow leaving talon-prints on the ground
They blamed themselves: “Why did we send her
Into the woodland splendor
Only to be lost and never found?”