Written by Russell Lee Ford
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Shadowplay
The children they whisper....
The children they fear....
Fear the night coming....
Fear what may appear....
.. ..
Come out of the darkness....
When the lights aren’t about....
Under moonlight in dreamland....
The shadows come out....
.. ..
And as each bedtime comes calling....
The children they know....
That the shadows bring nightmares....
As they come and they go....
.. ..
But the parents they don’t....
Believe what they hear....
They’ve grown up since their dark days....
And forgotten the fear....
.. ..
So how can the children ....
Stop these visits at night....
They could stop eating cheese....
Or even buy a night light....
.. ..
Some children drink coffee....
And try to stop the surprise....
Other use matchsticks....
To keep open their eyes....
.. ..
But I’ve got the secret....
To put an end to the plans....
To make the shadows return....
Play in their own shadowland....
.. ..
I’ll put an end to the scaring....
So all the kids they can dream....
Without fear of waking....
In a wet bed with a scream....
.. ..
So as this bedtime approaches....
I set up my trap....
My parents can’t understand....
Why I’m so eager to nap....
.. ..
And just as each night before....
The shadows come out to play....
But this time I know ....
They will not scare me again....
.. ..
And as the shadow comes closer....
And prepares for his scare....
I hide under my duvet....
Ready to confront my nightmare....
.. ..
And as the terror unleashes....
The shadow comes nearer....
So I throw off my duvet....
Revealing a mirror....
.. ..
My parents are woken....
By the sound of a scream....
And rush into my room....
Expecting me too have had a bad dream....
.. ..
But I just sit on my bed ....
And watch as the shadow retreats....
He views his screaming reflection ....
As I lay under my sheets....
.. ..
But the parents they don’t....
Believe what they witness....
They’d forgotten their dark days....
And dark shadows existed....
.. ..
And now frozen by fear....
The shadows transfixed....
By his own mirror image ....
And the awe it inflicts....
.. ..
He screams at the sight....
I can tell he’s afraid....
By this demon before him....
And the horror portrayed....
.. ..
And then quick as a flash....
The shadow had gone....
He returned to the darkness....
Where shadows belong....
.. ..
My parents apologised....
For not believing my tale....
About the shadows at bedtime....
That make children go pale....
.. ..
And since that very night....
I’ve shared how to deal with your fear....
Stand up to the shadows....
And make them disappear....
.. ..
And now all over the world....
Children sleep easy at night....
Without the shadows to wake them....
Up with a fright....
.. ..
I have grown up from the dark days....
And from the nightmares I learnt....
That if you stand up to your fears....
They will never return....
.. ..
And as I drift off to dreamland....
My Mum whispers goodnight....
Sweet dreams, I love you....
Don’t let the bedbugs bite