Alone I sit as midnight toll does chime,
incessant ringing causes thought to blur.
I contemplate the madness of my crime;
insanity the victor with no cure.
The raven whispers softly in my ear,
of sins my wife committed while I slept.
I try to stem the sound so I won’t hear,
of stolen moments, promises un-kept.
But still the rhythmic ticking steals my breath,
I cannot seem to grip reality.
Some darker part of me requires her death,
to soothe my deeply wounded vanity.
With silent footfalls I begin descent
I’m much too lost in darkness to repent.
The moon is shining brightly on her face,
in sleep her innocence is hard to bear.
Why did her love just vanish without trace?
When did she turn away and cease to care?
I stay the steely blade now poised to strike,
perhaps I’ve been imagining these wrongs.
I contemplate how much we are alike,
return the knife to sheath where it belongs.
Yet as I turn to leave I am unnerved,
the ticking pulse of time invades my soul.
The clock demands a sacrifice be served,
and so I go to execute my goal.
Her life force now released from body’s lock;
Each drop that’s spent appeases ticking clock.
