The Black Cat

by Sandro D. Fossemò

(Translated from Italian to English)

In the forlorn darkness

of a thunderstorm,

a lightning pierces

like a spear

the heart of the night.

An ancient street lamp

surveys the lonely

walls cramping the

wet cobbled street

of a medieval village.

The lamp bathes

a black cat in nefarious light.

In its glare is

the beast of the devil,

seeking shelter betwixt a tangle 

of dry autumnal branches.

The spirit of the night

guards the kingdom of the dead...

It scours the blind alley

with two diabolical lanterns

and a black coat,

in the midst of the storm.

It fixes its eyes on me

with cunning and they gleam in the darkness

of glowing amber.

The cat arches its back

and its fur bristles

as my furtive shadow

slowly approaches.

It draws back its ears

and growls with my caresses.

The damned feline

spits and bites

my fingers with bloodstained canines.

My soul shudders

to the plaintive chant of the bells

announcing death,

 clashing with the cat's strangled cry
GOTHIC  HALLOWEEN POEMS