Forever More

by Melissa Allen

First published in February/March, 2007, Volume 4, Issue 1, The Hatchet: Journal of Lizzie Borden Studies.

A quiet knock upon the door,

The silky rustling of a skirt,

Hiding her face behind her fan,

With a subtle Victorian flirt,

She curtsies to the caller,

He bows as a gentleman might,

Then takes her hand in his,

Such a quaint Victorian sight,

A look passes between them,

With no words needed to convey,

What lay foremost on their minds,

So she turns to lead the way,

A simple nod toward the stairway,

Gives a messege loud and clear,

There can be no turning back,

They must move ahead from here,

Silent footsteps on the carpet,

Drawing nearer to the place,

Where the end would finally meet,

That sleeping upturned face,

He stealths into the doorway,

To forever put out Andrew’s light.

Raises the axe before him,

She hangs back from the sight,

When the grisly deed is done,

She calmly leads him to the door,

He steps out and into history,

And is a mystery forever more.