The nighttime ritual is complete
Door closed, closet is not
Huddled ‘neath his blanket shield
Joey hunkers in his defensive spot
Wind whistles through the eaves
Storm is coming, sleep is not
Something stirs within the closet
Anxiety mounting, frantic and hot
Movement detected from the shelf
Black and twisted, gnarled knot
Peeking out from his linen fort
Blinking back fear is all he’s got
Room is dark but eyes adjust
Pupils focused, wide, bloodshot
Nightlight working overtime
Image resolves, not what he thought
Red herring borne from deepest fear
Once frightened, rendered naught
Just a shadow blowing in the wind
Another lesson has been taught
Victory is short-lived, it would seem
Evil is cunning, patient and fraught
Outside the window terror creeps
The foul Cr’apple within earshot
The sound starts low and sharp
Bone on glass, shrill and taut
Claws drag across the pane
A primal beast of earthen rot
Instantly the threat is clear
Window creaks, the juggernaut
Heart thumps hard in Joey’s chest
A final battle yet to be fought
From the safety of his blind, he braces
Part cowboy, part astronaut
He wields an unwavering resolve
But there’s something he’s forgot
A trace of a memory comes creeping in
A conversation, only half caught
Mom to Dad about some branch
And all the trouble it has brought
The storm boils over, the chaos peaks
Lightning crashes he can clearly see
That the thing he feared for all these years
Was just the branches of a crab apple tree
Mannino Acid 