Moonlight & Wandering

Moonlight filtered

Through curtained window,

Brought in on a breeze

To dance across sleeping skin

And infiltrate calm minds

With thoughts of yesterday

And wild fears of tomorrow,

The subconscious heart walking

With the beams of the moon

Towards a trap recently set-

A monster caught in the act

A shapeshifter appears,

Quaking at the edge

Of an unlocked cage,

Tempting the bars with its tongue

As face flips

From animal to human

A face well recognized

And once well loved-

Now the beast of regret

The monster of misfortune,

A flippant creature

Howling with the moon

And dancing with the devil

Beneath a clouded sky,

Soft hands turned to toxic nails,

Breaking the bars

Foregoing unlocked door,

Creating chaos their only charm,

Devastating creature

A relic of the night-

Chasing innocent souls

Through full moon landscape

Where familiar beings

Transform to the unknown-

Taking their true shape

Before the eyes of the sleeper-

Only to be forgotten upon waking,

Remembering only the trusted,

The faces seen in public

In the sunshine

Free of full moon’s impact,

Creatures of habit

Limping back to their closets

Hugging their skeletons tightly

Until the next moon arises

And they come out to play

Erasing the comfort

Of another martyr.

Katrina Thornley is a nature poet. novelist, and freelance journalist that resides in Rhode Island. She has two poetry collections currently published, a novel, as well as a short story anthology. Her poetry collections "Arcadians: Lullaby in Nature" and "Arcadians: Wooden Mystics" were inspired by a local park and life in her small rural town. You can find them on Amazon now!

Also, be sure to give her a follow on Instagram (@seekatwrite).

Don't forget to head over to Kindle Vella and read "Camp Terror"! You can read the first 3 episodes for free.