Echoes

While sloshing through the fallen leaves I spied,
A camouflaged encumbrance; steps of stone,
A long-forgotten staircase wedged long-side
my brambled forest path, I stood alone.

Transfixed, confounded, searching for the home
or structure high on hill, to which it led,
Yet finding none, I could not help bemoan
or shake the sense of loss, decay and dread.

I stared to glean its cold uneven treads,
and wondered of the children once who climbed
to hidden landings, (then I should have fled)
But I was lured by whispers, lost in time.

Unseen terror through me cast a chill,
A dream, perchance, and yet it haunts me still.

 

Written for the Light and Shade Challenge: