Dark

Darkness surrounds 

I can feel it breathing 

On the periphery 

Creeping about 

Just beyond my reach 

Given a moment of doubt 

It darts inward 

Quick and merciless 

Claiming ground 

Reaching from the shadows 

Like carrion 

The ravagers of death 

It feeds from my life 

Consuming endlessly 

In the entropy 

Beyond the shadow 

Becomes the vast nothing 

Nothing to find 

Nothing to reclaim 

Only the dark 

In the dark 

Live broken hearts 

lost relationships 

missed opportunities 

The dark 

Becomes me 

And I, 

Its quiet and final feast 

© Ron Simpson Jr. 

October 19, 2025 

Cast Down

So you’ve been cast down—

now the dark begins to breathe 

Don’t move 

Let the silence 

press its weight 

against your ribs 

Feel it circle 

skittering just beyond sight 

The whispers 

licking at your fear 

Sweat beads 

The air thickens 

The hairs on your neck 

salute the unseen 

You know it—

something worse than fate is coming 

Come forth 

My beautiful cruel thoughts 

Tease me when I am fallen 

Mock me when I am broken 

Punish me when I am too weak to burn

And you, my hellhounds 

darlings of the abyss 

rest beside your sisters 

Feast slow—

there’s always more meat in misery 

always another soul

that thought the fall would end the pain 

And I—

I will watch 

from the hollow 

between heartbeats 

where mercy rots 

and memory sleeps 

I am the quiet 

after the scream 

the shadow that stays

when even the dark has fled 

I will linger 

where the light once touched 

a shimmer caught 

between grief and grace 

I am the sigh beneath the thunder 

the tear the darkness cannot drink 

Once I was something pure—

now I am only what remains

when even hope forgets your name 

© Ron Simpson Jr

October 15, 2025

Unguarded

New love 

Heart unguarded 

No bruises 

No wounds 

Existing freely 

Without hesitation 

Embracing sensations 

Unabandoned revelry 

A fresh reality 

Trusting hands 

Fearlessly reach

A gift in every word 

A promise in every glance 

Hope blooms 

In uncharted soil 

Sans fences 

To keep one out 

And yet 

The beauty of risk 

Is the chance of breaking 

The sweetness of love 

Is born from its fragility 

The heart unguarded 

Beats louder still 

Because it dares 

Unguarded 

© Ron Simpson Jr 

September 27, 2025 

Noises in the Dark

Unexpected 

Unexplained 

A casual whisper 

Tearing the veil 

Where silence 

should reign 

Internal 

External 

Ethereal 

Spiritual 

Do I want to know 

Do I dare to listen 

Do I heed 

Do I ignore 

The house creaks 

The dogs thump 

The wind rattles 

The rain falls 

The fans whir 

The clocks tick

The AC hums 

The water heater gurgles 

Behind it all 

Beneath it all 

An urgent whisper 

An undeniable voice 

It is the season 

I suppose 

The night of frights 

Just around the corner 

The sights and sounds 

The sticky sweetness 

Adolescent laughter 

The crispness of fall 

Imaginary monsters 

Make believe creatures 

Ghosts and ghouls 

All filling the imagination 

Noises in the dark 

Becoming my friend 

My shadow companion 

Whispering secrets 

I cannot share 

Urgent counsel 

Or dark temptation  

Drawing me inward 

Into the velvet black 

Friend or foe 

Never knowing which 

Noises in the dark 

© Ron Simpson Jr. 

September 26, 2025