dawn cast her long gaze across the fields.
that's when we knew it was safe.
sometimes when the forest was dark,
we could hear them screaming.
ghosts always had their grip on us here,
but never like this, never this.
dark red stains were on tree stumps,
the smell of ichor and rust.
and one night, when the moon was high,
someone went outside, love drunk.
looking for a lover, a suitor, an escape.
legends are told of what happened.
but the saying goes, when one leaves,
the ghosts take you. forever.
or perhaps, if you're lucky, or not so,
you become one of them,
stealing children and girls and men,
forever to haunt the wood.
