ShadowPlay
An haiku sequence based on Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho’s suggestions

headlight rain
no sign of a vacancy
on the old road

endless highway
the past looms large
in the drive mirror

filling
the long hours
taxidermist

careless talk
the caged bird sings
with a stutter

spyhole
this desire is only
one-way

mirror mirror
mother’s glare
next to his sneer

maternal envy
shower curtain shadow
on perfect skin

eyes wide open
screams reflect
off his knife

stone cold
her depression
on the bed

morning after
a newspaper
left unread

hilltop house
fresh blood stains
well-worn steps

dark lake
the death rattle
of her car

fruit cellar
flies circle around
the light bulb

final judgement
the shadow play
in mother’s eyes

– Tim Gardiner& Maria Laura Valente

Scryptic – Magazine of Dark and Alternative Art, issue 14, March 2018, pp. 59-60…