Nobody Nextdoor (Poetry)

There is nobody
the other side of
the dividing wall
and yet at night we
hear these eerie sounds

a sudden yowl that
chills the blood and sends
the startled mind down
passageways of blind
unreasoned panic

The house is empty —
no one’s lived there for
a decade or more
since the last owner
upped and disappeared ...

Local tales claim weird
and ungodly things
occurred that kept most
decent folk at bay
neighbours moved away

And now we know why
our property was
such a snip to buy —
vis-à-vis the witch
still in residence