Don't look back

Don't look back

Echo of footsteps in the darkness
Pale and anaemic streetlights giving scant relief
You quicken your pace
As if to distance yourself
From your escalating fears

You don't look back
Oh no, don't dare look back
He might see you, see your fear
He might smell it, might taste it
He might want it...
Another trophy for his collection

Heart quickening, pulse racing
Heels clickety-clicking on misted asphalt
Stay calm now, stay cool
Just another corner, just one more block
Look ahead, just keep on looking ahead
Don't surrender to your suspicions
If you do, you're lost

Corner turned, block traversed
Street life once more all around you
Late night joggers pounding endless miles
Anxious parents wheeling sleepless offspring
Pausing for a moment, you let it all rush in
Ecstatic at the truth of "safety in numbers"

Allowing yourself to breathe once more
Not having realized that you'd stopped
Deep breaths, sweet breaths, good to be alive breaths
Every one relished, thankful it won't be your last
Turning slowly, your eyes seek out your would be assailant
Eyes meeting and narrowing in recognition
He comes at you with a purr!