on a bridge at night

Alone, and relieved for reprieve from darkness,
I lingered longer and glanced behind;
having crossed a bridge that was bathed in light,
my eyes beheld a macabre sight. 

Was this flesh and blood, a friend or a foe,
this ghostly shape emerging from shadows?
Was my mind playing tricks, or trying to warn
of danger approaching in apparitional form?

The sound of his steps on the wooden span,
Bedeviled my dreams of dastardly doings;
filled with amplified dread and dismay,
I panicked and planned to run away.

I know it sounds silly now, but I feel death
stalk, its nearness sensed in every goodbye;
parting portends a final farewell
when the host of heaven will seize my soul,

But not on this night, not now and not him. 
He waves and I know he means me no harm.
One day mortality will finally win, my end
less ominous than this night portends.

Liz McFadzean