Listening For Nightmares Poem by Chase Gagnon

I wandered the streets with her
at all hours, whispering dark philosophies
while walking our black cat
that would only purr
in the darkness.
Only the stars haunted
that old town on the lake
that slept as we roamed the unlit roads
through the perfume mist of their dreams.
The scent was so vulnerable
like it was worn by young girls
walking thoughtlessly
through back alleys
webbed in old shadows—
we would hide in those shadows
like spiders and wait
for the dreamers to tangle with fear
in their sheets.
We fed on their screams
still alive in the web
then left their husks there
for the sun to behead.