By Richard H. Fay
In an unquiet house
Wherein restless wraiths dwelt,
During an uneasy night
When eldritch spectres stirred,
I found my heart tested
By a nameless terror.
As I crossed the threshold
Of my unlit chamber,
My unwelcome presence
Roused an unknown something —
I found myself assailed
By a faceless horror.
A frame of ragged form
Like a tattered black cloak
Swooped downward upon me.
Like a mailed knight of yore
I found the nerve to fight
‘Gainst a peerless rival.
A swirling ebon shape
Surged in my direction,
Then parted around me
Like a substanceless mist —
I found I had stood firm
‘Gainst a bodiless shade.
