The darkness falls fast and clammy

The darkness falls fast and clammy
amid the grey of the gathering clouds
as the sun hides its hard heat
behind the dancing horizon.
The shadows take on shimmering life
in the midst of the entwined trees
as their branches move like
skeletal fingers, the leaves hissing
in the stiffening breeze.
I walk fast and edgy,
hands damply clenching,
hair long in my face,
skin sticky from fear
because I know,
I know
what lies in the shadows<