She swallowed hard,

it was difficult to breathe,

her emotions were mummified,

as she heard the darkness call,

so she cried and she cried.

She walked to the mirror,

and felt the terror,

the night wrapped around her in a stifling embrace,

in the empty mirror

she failed to see her face,

oh it was a monumental fear,

seeing that she wasn’t there.

There was no image looking back,

nothing tangible, nothing but black,

so she just peered into the darkness,

a haunt washed over her,

chilling, freezing, there was no mistake,

she couldn’t escape,

as the terror taunted,

and the misery haunted,

then it moved inside,

boldly, gracefully, and didn’t try to hide,

then she shook violently with fear,

she hesitated, murmured a quick prayer,

then felt a warm tear,

then realized it was only a nightmare,

her husband asleep,

she glanced over at him and smiled,

and the love she had for him so deep,

lights inside her illuminated for awhile,

then the casket door was shut,

the air was dry and hot,

her body smelled of rot,

she sniffed the death in the air,

rushing in again was the fear,

then it dawned on her, it wasn’t a nightmare,

she was really never there.