The Locksmith’s Dog

The Locksmith’s Dog

You heard the clang of chains in the dark

You read the tale of the locksmith, the man who welded nightmares into steel. You shuddered at the locksmith’s wife,

You followed the locksmith’s son, born into secrets, raised in silence, and heir to horrors

The Locksmith’sDog

And now comes the hound

They said he forged it to protect

They said it only bites when provoked

They lied

The locksmith’s dog is awake

And it remembers everything

No bark, no whine, no scratch at gate

It stalks the hours long past late

A shiver born of blood and steel

Where silence breathes, and locks can feel

Its eyes are keys, unblinking, blue

That see through walls and straight through you

A muzzle forged from twisted chain

Its grin a snare, its jaw, pure pain

The master’s forge bred more than bolts

More than latches, locks and volts

He built a beast to guard the shop

But never knew the thing won’t stop

It knows the scent of every sin

Can sniff the guilt you’re hiding in

One creak of floor, one breath too loud

It comes, and you won’t leave that shroud

The blood beneath its metal crown

Still drips from where it held men down

And those who tried to pick the door

Now rust in piles upon the floor

You hear a jangle in the fog

A whisper, “Come, the locksmith’s dog”

You run, but locks slam shut like fate

It holds the key

You sealed your gate.