On a midnight train, so cold and gray,
I sat alone, my thoughts astray.
The wheels they hummed a steady tune,
As shadows danced beneath the moon.
The car was empty, save for me,
A quiet hum, a mystery.
But then I saw, across the aisle,
A figure there, with a strange smile.
His face was pale, his eyes were deep,
Like someone lost in endless sleep.
He whispered soft, “May I sit near?”
I nodded quick, though filled with fear.
His breath it chilled the evening air,
His touch, a cold, unnatural stare.
He never spoke, yet seemed to know
The darkest secrets I’d never show.
The train it rattled, slow and fast,
The shadows stretched and held me fast.
I turned to look, but he was gone,
Vanished like the mist at dawn.
I searched the car from end to end,
No sign of him, no stranger, friend.
But when I reached the window’s side,
I saw his face, still by my side.
A smile that grew, his eyes that glared,
And then, I knew, he wasn’t there.
He was the ghost, the phantom stare,
The passenger who’s never there.