- Vol. 09
- Chapter 01
Image by Frederick Cayley Robinson
Maidservants
They eye him close,
lurking in shadow -
his shape looms
growing by candlelight.
They huddle closer,
using domestic chores
to distract a trilling fear
as he meanders closer, near.
Pestle and mortar
absorb tension,
milling herbs finer,
to near extinction
as nervous anxiety climbs -
scaling the ceiling
like a pilot.
Shadows morph.
He moves,
eyeing from corners.
The cat shuffles,
discomforted by his presence,
failing to wash, clean matted fur;
instead he sits,
pupil-dilated high
as his owner stalks
marking his territory
in spidery cubby holes,
Maidservants
where light no longer
finds a keyhole.