Eyes Between Leaves

Rustling whispers haunt the night
Paths where lights reach never could
The branches shiver, void of light
A spectral hymn in the darkened wood

The ranches lock their shutters
To bar the beast from crossing in
Presence chills marked by foul mutters
A herald of despair and sin

The cattle wail in trembling fear
The barn’s old beams creak low and long
The wind, like death, cuts sharp and clear
A dirge sung, its demented song

What treads upon yon fields of clover?  
Its claws carve tales in bark and stone
The knocking comes over and over
No mortal dares to face alone

The trees themselves seem twisted, fraught
Their gnarled limbs claw at the air
And those who wander are surely caught
In eyes of pale and sightless stare

Beware the steps beneath the leaves
The stalker waits in shadowed guise
It counts each soul it means to cleave
Each breath before the silence lies

The thing devours, its hunger vast
Its smiling maw a cursed embrace
Run fast, for none escape the grasp
Of the pale white eyes in the wooded place