Dweller in the Cellar

Dweller in the Cellar

There’s a dweller in the cellar of my soul
Black as a hole in an old house
With all the windows boarded up

Keep out says the sign in the front yard
Even as the teenagers edge closer to the haunted house
Egging each other forward and inside
With lights that shine enough to see the frightened faces--

The writing on the wall
Dripping fresh blood as screams echo down hallways
And doors slam above

There is a creaking from below
Like something being twisted
Then a snap and a clang of metal
Then galloping steps and splintered floorboards

There is a pounding on the cellar door
Like a giant trapped in a cave by some more clever creature
Trying to force its way back out
The door finally moans
Under the brute strength and is thrown aside
Then more creaking floorboards

The teenagers do not move
They are frozen cold where they stand
Flashlights roll at their feet as the thing
with forty eyes, four legs, and a child’s face
tucked under one hairy armpit trots into the room
asking who wants to play!