Cabin of Castigation

In a small, remote cabin,
illuminated by candlelight,
resides a solitary man
trying to sleep away a stormy night

Outside, rain pours,
thunder booms, and lightning streaks
Every gust of wind causes the old cabin to creak

The man’s neck is sore,
his body aches,
he hopes the pain will ease by morning,
for his sanity’s sake

He lies and imagines a beautiful dawn,
exhausted, he releases a weary yawn,
little time passes before he drifts off to sleep
But not even an hour elapses
and he is roused from his dreams

Outside the cabin, a woman’s shrill scream
emanates from within the darkened forest

He leaps out of bed and runs to the door
Peering out, he sees only fog settling in
as rain still pours

He shouts and asks if someone needs aid,
abruptly, the screaming fades

Confounded and scared, he hollers once more,
a minute passes with no response

He slams and locks the door before walking back to his bed
overcome with a sudden and peculiar sense of dread

More thunder booms, another bolt of lightning streaks
behind the man, the floorboards begin to creak,
and the cabin is instantly permeated by a putrefying reek

He turns once more and finds himself staring
at a woman who looks as if she had arisen from a grave,
covered in soil and slowly drifting to him

Cornered and trapped, he cowers in fear,
he asks her what it is she wants from him here

She whispers his name and replies, “Retribution.
A year ago, you killed me,
And you need to cease the lies you’ve sown.”

He pleads for forgiveness,
she simply whispers, “No.”
Her skeletal fingers wrap around his neck
and she watches him as his life goes…

In a small cabin illuminated by candlelight
resides a solitary man,
perpetually fated to echo
his final stormy night