If You Go Down to the Woods (Your Voice)(Alison McClure) If you go down to the woods today beware of prying eyes. They watch your every move from right to left. There are secrets hidden beneath the damp earth waiting to reveal themselves to you. Watch, listen, hear me. You pass over my tomb, your thudding feet echo through my skull as my own desperate cries once used to, throbbing through my soul. You're now reaching the tree lined track that soon will seal your fate. Everything is so innocent, fresh and new, the beginning of existance is everywhere. Though it's not the sweet smell of life you notice but the bitter stench of decay. He’s there, he waits. Crouching between the giant ferns the misty wet air surrounds him hiding him from view. The monster licks his lips in anticipation, he watches you. As you get nearer his breathing becomes staggered, barely able to contain himself now he begins to fidget and grasp at his crotch. You are oblivious to the obscenity being performed over you because of the monsters obsession. You see sparrows and fairy wrens frantically preparing their nests for spring. A butterfly passes enticing you to follow. Chase it, please. You don’t, you stop and look up as the breeze gently sways the enormous branches above you, how beautiful the woods appear at dusk. Music fills your ears and you feel alive, energized. But for how long? Not running, walking, almost strolling you make your way deeper and deeper into the arms of the forest. It will soon be yours forever. You marvel at the splendour around you, the Four Seasons seem to be a fitting sound track for what seems like natures paradise. The instrumental dances through your body reaching every inch of you. It makes you feel at ease. The evening sky is bathed in the rich magenta glow of the setting sun, there is no stress, no worries, the outside world has been left behind. You smile. In an instant darkness quickly steals the light that shines between the leaves. You're now tasting the gritty soil in your mouth, hearing the muffle of your own breath and feeling the weight of a thousand tons on your back. Why are you not fighting? Kick, punch, bite, scream! DO SOMETHING! Paralysed you forget to fight and let your breath slip away through his thick fingers. It's over now you will soon be with me. The ground opens to swallow you up and you’re here. Forget what might have been.

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