Darkness;
Lightlessness, in the hospital.
I heard the footsteps
of a poltergeist beyond the ward outside.
Warmthless.
Suicidal intention, in the room.
Fancy: I was still young.
Moths on the wall,
wishing to dine
on the dim light beneath it.
I had to eat
the last few memories –
a moth’s dinner.
The poltergeist prefers to speak
of death’s charm; it could eat away
men’s pain and end the long winter in bed.
The door creaked, open.
A white coat appeared,
with all her rudeness：
“Time’s up”.
The shadows were no longer outside.
Yucheng Tao is from Nanjing and an international student studying songwriting at MI College of Contemporary Music in Los Angeles. His works have been published in Wingless Dreamer(2024 contest), Synchronized Chaos, Moonstone Art Center, and Spillword.