Shhh… the wind speaks in forgotten tongues, But I’ve nailed shut the mouths where the darkness hung. The candles are lit, the salt lines hold, And the whispers stay out in the bitter cold. Your breath is soft like a prayer half-said, And I guard each dream from the crawling dread. The things in the wall scratch slow and deep, But I walk the floor while you’re safe in sleep. I’ve stitched wards into the threads of your quilt, Laced each seam with the love I built. Hung nettles and bells at every door, So no nightmare beast can cross this floor. The closet creaks but it don’t dare open, I bound it tight with a spell unspoken. There’s a sigil chalked beneath your bed, Where even shadows fear to tread. I know their names — the ones that bite, That curl through keyholes in the night. But I brewed their fear in a midnight tea, And they flee when they smell it steeping in me. You sleep so still, like moonlit stone, But you ain’t ever truly alone. I keep one eye on the fog outside, Where the pale things scratch but dare not slide. They want your joy, your laugh, your song, But I’ve made the silence sharp and strong. I carved protection in your name, Lit a candle with a father’s flame. Some dads kiss once and walk away — I stay and make the dark obey. I don’t tell tales to make you brave, I bury them beneath the grave. One whispered threat, one crawling hiss, And I meet it with fire and a cursed kiss. These monsters know when love runs red — Mine’s a river they’ve learned to dread. There’s chalk on the window, cloves in the air, Each corner’s sealed with a silent prayer. No hand will drag you, no eye will stare — I haunt the haunters, I’m always there. So let your lashes fall like rain, I’ve shouldered all the midnight pain. The things you fear will fear me too — And none will pass the veil to you. If I must fight each dusk, I will, With iron words and father’s will. If I must break the realm between, To keep your sleep soft, pure, and clean. Then I’ll do it thrice, and once again, Till morning drips through the windowpane. And when you wake, all soft and warm, You’ll never know I stilled the storm. (Chorus – whispered lullaby) Close your eyes, I’ll stand and stay, Chase all the monsters far away. Through ghost and claw, through tooth and flame, I’ll fight the night in your sweet name. Rest, my child, the dark can’t creep, Not while I guard you in your sleep. You dream the light, I hold the line — The love I give is spell and spine.

While you sleep