Rachel A. Robins

On nights when I hear shadows whispering,
when blackness swallows the moon; I feel
he is near. He slips into my bed and I am
spooning with Loneliness.
“Hush,” he softly whispers, “I am here now.”
Wrapping his arms around me, he
holds me tight, caressing my shoulders,
coaxing out the chill long-settled
into my bones.

“You are not alone,” Loneliness speaks smoothly
into my hair, “I’ll stay beside you.” His warm
breath strokes my bare neck as melting into
me, we lay together in the stillness.
Feeling his familiar
presence, I listen
to whistling wind and
rhythmic tapping of trees sounding on
glass window panes. A glimmer of starlight
strains to shimmer, but is
snuffed out by the deepening dark.

“Sleep now”, croons Loneliness, “I’ll never
leave you,” his promise
stretching to fill the emptiness
in the bed next to me, staying with
me until dawn.