Maledicam de Spectro

In the chill of the night, as dark as can be, 
A haunted spirit wells up within me...

When that ol’ spotlight shines a little too bright,

When my sensory supper plate overflows with weight,

Spooks a-poppin’! In my face, no stoppin’.

And I feel I begin to change...

My fingers, they twitch. My speech, it garbles. My frenzied brain ‘bout to lose its marbles.

Can’t hide my confusion, gotta let out a growl,

What had been invisible, now announced with a howl!

Behold the cacodemon! Raw exposed nerves,

Provoked by a world that intrudes and swerves. 

I must scream, must jabber, must flap, must curse!

Must throw, must blather, must sputter, and worse!

And all I encounter will flee with fright,

Till I’ve time to recover, like daybreak from night.

So beware overwhelming my atypical mind,

Lest I flip like a switch from Jekyll to Hyde.

Though my curse brings me secret delight, you see:

For one fleeting moment, ‘tis they who fear me!