Shadows in the Dark

Look at that patch there

Just a little thicker

A touch more velvety

Swirling slightly

In the backdraft from the

Swinging bedroom door.

Switch on the light

And it retreats,

Like the rest of the darkness

Like any of us

Eyes abused by sudden

Sharp shock

Of luminescence

We hide our heads

Where they live.

The light is off again

The glass of water filled

The book retrieved

The phone on charge

The baby fed

The window closed

The tap tightened

The covers pulled up

Close round ears.

The thicker patches of darkness

Swirl and stream

Across the silent room

Mesmerising motion

An ocean of ink

That will never tell a story;

A shadow play.