Late one night chilly and still

Sits a house perfectly perched on top of a hill

Inside lays Sam peacefully asleep

cozy and dreaming of candy and toys.

Unbeknownst to him a devilish figure begins to creep.

Silently scheming about how he will take this boy.

“Wake up, Sam” he hears in the distance

“Wake up, Sam”,  damn this persistence.

Sam opens his eyes to find a skeletal arm poking into view.

Clenched in his fist a bouquet of balloons.

As if on que, the skeleton begins to speak.

“Well hello there, Sam. Finally you stir.

My name is Phineas Mortimer.

I’ve come a long way to find just you.

I’m here to take you some place new.”

Sam frightened and spooked said inquisitively.

“Excuse me sir, you are foreign to me. Please show me your face before I agree.”

The skeleton lets the balloons go slightly

catching the string before they hit the celling.

“I’m sorry Sam, that cannot be done.

My face is reserved for those who want to have fun.”

Sam gets out of bed and ponders intently.

The skeleton lets the balloons go slightly

catching the string before they hit the celling.

“I’m here because of your diagnosis, incidentally.

As an arbiter to decide your fate.”

Sam stands his ground.

“You seem like a harbinger of evil and hate”

The skeleton lets the balloons go slightly

catching the string before they hit the celling.

“No no Sam, you misunderstand.

It is my duty to offer you a place of healing”

Sam looks curious

“Sir, you lie. My parents say I will heal just fine.”

The skeleton lets the balloons go slightly

catching the string before they hit the celling.

“Sam.. Sam, it’s not your choice but mine.”

The skeleton lets the balloons go completely

staring at them as they burst on the celling.  

“Sam, you were right to be apprehensive,

but I was here long before you had the option to become defensive.

But now you will sleep never to stir,

for my name is Phineas Mortimer.