The Curious Little Demon Who Sat on My Bannister, ‘Til Two

As I travelled to my bed
I met the oddest fellow, red,
who looked at me with splintered eyes
and asked if I was in disguise.
I said: “Of course I’m not in drag,
do you perceive some filthy hag
to be conversing on the stair?”
He shrugged as if he didn’t care.
“I though you just a foreign chap,”
he said and pulled a felted cap
from a pocket lost from view
“Have you travelled from Peru?”
I said, “You seem a little chilled. Are you?
“A bit,” he said. (His teeth were bared.)
“Aren’t you just a little scared?”
“A bit,” I said, “When I’m in bed
“I’ll wrap the duvet round my head.”
“It’s time,” he said “I heard the bell.
“I guess we’ll meet again…

…in Hell”