Beyond the Shadows

In drowning silence, smothering these halls,
The darkness chokes the lonely candle flame,
This place, where corpses of my fortune fall,
Has formed my tomb. Eidemtel is my name.

Beyond the shadows, lightning’s thund’rous wrath,
Exhumes the deadened skies in ceaseless storm,
Despite the mirrors lined along my path,
I rarely turn to gaze upon my form.

The past’s a murky, dreary, dreadful thing,
That floats like phantoms through the midnight air,
An echoed dirge is all it ever sings,
Yet every time I look, there’s nothing there.

The silence shatters, howls upon the wind,
This ancient manor whispers when it rains,
The specters’ call is echoed! Doubled! Twinned!
With every step, I hear the groan of chains!

I hear a voice come calling from behind,
I spin around, but only darkness stares!
Yet still, beyond the shadows in my mind,
There waits some vile defiler of my prayers.

Another ghostly cry, it sounds so near!
And to my right, a shadow crossed my eyes,
I slowly turn while quivering in fear,
My heart, a frozen shard in my surprise.

The candle dances on a twisted wick,
Its flame provides a tiny sphere of light,
Beyond the shadows, looking pale and sick,
I see a silhouette within the night.

I freeze as if a statue made of stone,
I stand, immobilized upon this place,
For what I see, I think was once my own,
Upon the mirror there, I see my face.

The eyes that stare at mine are wide and wild,
The mouth is open, an eternal scream,
His panic, like a lost and frightened child,
That haunts me in my dark and endless dream.

But then his screech comes clawing at my ears,
I pray for mercy, always finding none,
Until, at last, I cannot face my fears,
And so, in terror, turn my back to run!

But now my fortune truly has been had,
A lifetime’s luck I mournfully amass,
For as I turn, this soul, who’s mirror-mad,
I see my name I wrote upon the glass.