• I sat upon my windowpane
    gazing at the moon.
    The streets were filled with carriages like
    the bustle of high noon.

    The carnival below me was
    a masquerade of lights,
    the streetlights breaking through the dark
    and illuminating the sights.

    As gentle as a whisper
    someone called out my name.
    I looked below and saw no one,
    but I had heard it, all the same.

    “Jean, Jean, come find me.
    I promise I won’t hide.
    If you come down to the carnival
    I’ll take you to the other side.”

    I donned my coat and mask
    and raced down flights of stairs
    out into the carnival
    with people with no cares.

    I looked around and heard the voice.
    “Jean, Jean, come quick.”
    It turned into a quiet whisper,
    a laughing little mimic.

    Curiosity took hold of me
    and would not let me go.
    Though I knew it was not wise,
    I turned to follow it far from home.

    The voice led through whispers
    down a dark and twisting street.
    It was far from the fairy lights
    and there was no one there to meet.

    Finally the voice stopped
    and turned to me to say,
    “I have you in my grasp now
    and you cannot get away.”

    There was a screech of metal,
    piercing to the soul.
    I refused to let out me screams
    or play my dreadful role.

    Then there was a bark of laughter
    and the voice was no longer a mystery.
    I looked up to the face of
    my dear friend Nathalie.

    She laughed at me and said,
    “My, I gave you a fright.
    But come, that is over,
    let’s go find the carnival lights.”

    We turned and walked
    back towards the pixie fair.
    Laughing at our previous scene,
    we made quite a happy pair.

    But something was wrong.
    She had an air of danger.
    A blindly led cause that
    I didn’t fear to anger.

    As we turned
    she stabbed my side,
    and I fell down
    in the bloody tide.

    Then she whispered in my ear,
    “Have no fear, you will be safe.
    You’ll be with our shared beloved
    who I knew too late.”

    As I succumbed
    to the never-ending night,
    I looked back and saw
    the sweet carnival lights.