Arrow Rock Literary Journal

Lady Lampshade appears as I open my eyes, though slow.

Who is she? I do not know.

Only a vague memory as hazy as a misty day remains.

A child… lost, hers perhaps? but the brain begins to strain.

She stares. Does she approach? No— Only stands and stares,

Her eyes not visible beneath the lampshade she wears,

But the sensation, that eerie sensation of being her full focus…

Unable to move, I feel hopeless.

From where did she come?

Her pale visage makes me numb,                                        

I am frozen in my terror

By the glare of the lampshade wearer.

How did she appear here?

The door is locked, not a sound did I hear,

Not even a rustle of her white dress.

A nightdress?…but no, that doesn’t make sense.

At last! A sound! But from where?

Was it me or someone out there?

But the question no longer matters,

One blink and I awaken, though I still feel her gaze like daggers.

Though over, the experience clings to my skin

Because the Lampshade lady has taught sleep to elude me in that thin twin.

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Sarah Rau, is an undergraduate student of Lindenwood University majoring in English Studies with interests in creative writing and professional communication. Though more of a fiction-based writer, she enjoys taking the time to express herself in the occasional poem. In addition to this piece, she has other works published in Arrow Rock’s 14th and 15th editions. In her free time, she can most often be found trying to lose herself in the world of a fantasy novel.