When The Lights Go Out by Stewart StaffordWhen the lights go out,From the seeds of doubt,Phantoms come a-skittering.Slow at first,Then, as if a dam burst,My psyche starts withering.From a dune of sand,Grabs a clawing hand,My heartbeat takes to dithering.Then an immovable object,A vast shadow standing erect,My paralysis is blithering.But come the dawn of day,I can finally break away,My consciousness starts filtering.© Stewart Stafford, 2021. All rights reserved.