A Trilogy Number Three  
Parlor Light Three   
                     
The silent darkness                        
that surrounds my sleep                        
was suddenly shattered                                    
                   by a howling wind                        
and a voice that came with it.  
                       
My eyes,                        
weary with the night                         
tared out at the darkness                                    
                searching for a light                                                          
                                       a movement                        
but no one was there. 

                        
Yet, the howling wind                        
and the voice that came with it                        
continued to pierce my soul                        
and I could not rest.                        
For some familiar memory                        
beckoned me to rise                                    
                  to wander the house                        
in search of the spirit                        
that haunted me.                        
My heart trembled                        
like shivering bones                                    
on a winter’s night.  
                       
With bare feet                                    
                on wooden floor                        
I moved from the bed                        
to the window                        
in hopes to see                                    
                    the howling wind                        
and the voice that came with it.    
                      
Outside                                    
                         limbs                                    
                         void of leaves                        
were still                        
and the sky silent                                    
                            and cloudless…                        
I wondered                        
where was this howling wind                        
and the voice that came with it.  
                       
Then I saw a flicker                        
from the parlor                                    
                      a weak faint flicker                        
from the fireplace                                    
nearly cooled from the night.
                         
I withdrew to the room                        
where wine                              
                  was once sipped                        
and books once read…                        
The room                        
where quiet lovers                        
once sat                                    
                  in the warmth of love                         
before I sent her away.                          

My eyes,                        
more focused now                        
searching for a clue                        
to the spirit that haunted me.  
                       
I searched dusty shelves                        
where her life had been                                    
                 and my heart melted away the years                        
 and it only seemed                                    
                  moments ago                        
since she was gone.  
                       
Sadness                                    
           trickled                                                
                     down                                                            
                                  my face                        
as the howling wind                        
and the voice that came with it                        
grew weaker                                    
             and weaker                        
until I was left                       
with only                                    
                    the deeds I had done.  

Tony Sexton