The Phantom Inch

A Modern Gothic Horror Story

There is an ancient thing,
That stalks and prowls the land.
A frightful lumbering shadow,
that feeds on souls of men. 

So brazen a thing it is,
This cursed thing of old.
That it appears on the day of birth,
Before a life unfolds.

On this day the shadow bows,
To show its awful face.
With outstretched hand and earnest gaze,
It offers its embrace. 

“Laugh and play for now dear child,
For soon I will return.
And on that day all bets are off,
Your balance will be due.”

From the moment the child is marked, 
He’s fated to a spectral clock.
With every passing day,
Another hour is lost. Tick, tock.

From babe to boy and boy to man,
They always forget the awful plan. 
But when the bell eventually tolls,
It comes to dim their mortal souls. 

Unburdened by the passing time,
Most children sleep right through the night.
But others twist and turn and scream,
For the demon stalks their every dream.

Then come the heightened teenage years,
Such a chaotic time as ever can be.
With rages and passion and incessant talking,
How could they hear the clock still tick tocking?

Young men in their twenties all fire and bluster,
Give nary a thought to fate.
Still it waits, preening and grinning,
Knowing full well time keeps on spinning.

Now in their thirties life does slow down,
Enough to finally hear the sound. 
The voice long forgotten, now gleefully bold.
“We'll meet again soon, remember I told.”

In the autumn of their forties,
When the phantom doth arrive.
It comes with nary a sliver of mercy, 
And then it claims its sweet prize

Soon all those men will know true despair,
A polka dot of shame they'll have to wear.
A dark blighted circle fronting their jeans.
And they'll cry to the heavens, "How can this be?"

I shook and I squeezed with all of my might.
But still, there it is, so plainly in sight.
And now that we're here, you finally see,
The Phantom Inch... is really just pee.

About Liminal Space Creative

Independent creator attempting to spill the messy worlds in my head onto the page. At present, I am attending online design school as part of a very unexpected and unplanned career change. This space is where I will share random pieces of the journey: inspiration, experiments, school projects, and lessons I learn along the way.

Cover Image Photo by Vladimir Srajber from Pexels:
https://www.pexels.com/photo/misty-nighttime-urban-scene-with-clock-tower-29299977/