Gas

March 10, 1978

My imagination

Shapes sound

In the night

The creaking plank

Outside my door

Footsteps climbing

Stairs I know

Are not my neighbor’s

Too silent a wraith

For souls for whom

Silence is a sin

And I huddle closer

To the storm for warmth,

And the soothing

Sound of gas

And it’s always

Enticing whisper of sleep.

Is that the door handle

I hear rattling?

Is that a stranger

Seeking to come in

Out of the cold?

Or seeking to steal warmth

I’ve already convinced

Myself to give up?

Seduced

By the whisper

Of gas