Door stuck, kicked it open!
easy guarded only by a flimsy cobweb,
the spider in the middle ran away.
Empty heat, grimy windows
and mouse droppings on dusty floor boards!
Could hear them running for safety upstairs
before human boots kicked them dead.

The steps up to the second landing creaked
(they always do in ancient abandoned houses)
and old shadows miserably succumbed
when I opened shutters falling into an abyss of day light.
One, however, refused to go,
moving slowly behind me,
whispering inaudible words.

Laughter, orange trees and children outside,
the late owner had,
when struck by loneliness,
tried to hide his misery from the world
till only sorrow lingered in empty rooms
and darkness entered his mind.
Blackened out memories,
erased his humanity
till he was a shadow in a deserted house.