Voices From The Dark (Poetry)

I think I hear them sometimes in the lull
that gap between the going of the light
the final dwindle of the sunset’s glow
and that grey creeping shade which heralds night

They whisper warnings — call me as they did
when living in the misty long-ago
familiar voices sounding just the same
and sibilant with words I used to know

I dream I hear my name — a chorus sung
repeatedly as echoes stir the trees
it catches my attention — hooked upon
the fading notes of childhood’s memories

I count the years that beat their own dull time
‘Life slips away (the message says) like sand ...’
and that rings true and clear as any bell
this stark reminder from Death’s hinterland

I sigh a soft rejoinder — gather thoughts
and energy enough to make my mark
some small success and happiness before
I go to join those voices from the dark