An Unnatural Quiet

They come, they come, shadows cold and sly
That dance in silence, mocking as they flit
A host unseen, with thousand unseen eyes
And each one fixed upon my shivering wit

O silent fiends, why creep ye through my cell?  
Is’t not enough my mind’s become thy prey?  
Ye slither, lurk, and fester—yet none tell
What foul delight or purpose bids you stay

Hark! They do whisper, low and serpent-sweet
Their voices coil within the breathless gloom
“Come nearer, fool, where light and shadow meet,  
And touch the edge of thy eternal doom.”  

I shall not yield! But lo, their fingers crawl
Like spiders weaving webs across my skin
They stitch the night upon my chambered wall
And paint each corner with their ghostly grin

Aye, let them come—I feel their freezing breath
They mock my flesh, my sanity undone
O dread delusions, lead me down to death
For what’s a mind, once all its light hath gone?  

So draw me near, ye spectres of the shade
I am but yours, as night becomes my throne
Take what ye will, my will itself is frayed
Till all that’s left is but thy whisper’s bone