The Black Thing

My husband John and I
We're sitting down for tea,
Suddenly I spied
Something black in front of me
John put down his teacup
And with a look of complete surprise
Said, "What was that black thing
That flashed before my eyes?"

The black thing whizzed across the room
Then disappeared out of sight,
We had been out all day so
All our doors and windows
Were closed tight

The room was quiet,
We could not hear a sound
Not the squeak of a mouse
Or the flap of a wing,
In the air or on the ground.

The black thing had vanished,
Into thin air.
No rodent or bird,
Found anywhere.
Was it a bat?
Or baby rat?
Rat's don't fly,
So it couldn't be that.

The black thing flashed past,
At such a pace,
It would help if you were slower to notice features or face.

It seemed to disappear,
Into the air conditioner,
High up on the wall
If it did, there was still no sound,
No chirp, tweet or squawl

We turned off the heating,
In case the black thing 
Had got inside
And it had died.

What an evening that turned out to be,
A conundrum indeed for John and me.
We are waiting for a call,
For the technician to take the conditioner 
Off the wall.
To solve the mystery
Of who that unwelcome guest can be.
Copyright © | Year Posted 2023

Poem

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M  Avatar
July 19, 2023 at 10:12 PM
How interesting Shirley…..have you discovered its identity yet?? Soupmail! Debx
Theraven Avatar
July 19, 2023 at 8:34 PM
Shirley, Curiosity got the better of me, wondering what in the world it could be. Nice to read about this conundrum. -Richard
Hawkins Avatar
July 19, 2023 at 11:18 PM
Lovely to hear from you, Richard. The technician has just left and we are now devoid of the black thing, it was a fruit bat fast asleep thank goodness. We are mid winter here in Adelaide and it is unusual for bats to be seen then especially solitary ones. ( I hope we haven't got anymore hiding in the house) it was a first for the technician too) I'll keep you posted. Take care, BATTY OLD DUCK
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