My candle had
gone out
I was filled
with terror
Hairs stuck up
from my arms
It was the time
of ghosts
Rain poured down
outside
There was a knock
on the door
My heart beat and
blood curdled
I peered through
the window
A ragged man’s
there in a cape
Warily I opened
the door
What an image he
presented
Old as time
itself
“Are you ready?”
He said
I’ve come on a
mission”
“I have been
good”
I said as I
turned my back.
He laughed, “It’s
not that simple
It’s time to go
up that hill”
He pointed above
him
To a dark and misty
hill
“You’ve deserved your rest”
I slowly closed
my eyes
And murmured
“All right Daddy”
He grasped me firmly
I remembered
nothing moreHe grasped me firmly
Image from Flickr.com
This and your previous poem are quite a departure from your usual theme. Mere idle exploration of your dark side, I hope.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful, comforting and chilling all at once . The way it "would be" I imagine :) Terrific :)
ReplyDeleteYes a real departure...I love the suspense..the atmosphere..the sense of an epic story placed in a tiny bottle of sand..I don't think I want to go up that hill for a while
ReplyDeleteCuriously when I first wrote it I thought it was too dark so softened it to childish imagining as the father puts him back to bed and gets him off to sleep.
DeleteA dream…didn't seem threatening at all, but these can be scary, the day robs them of their power, and the telling…have you noticed?
ReplyDeleteBut the speaker remembers enough to tell us about that strange and disturbing night--and the even more disturbing and ominous hill...
ReplyDeleteOh, Oldegg, you made him/the picture talk! I'd suggest to fight him! ~ Hope, you're okay :)xx
ReplyDeleteDramatic and intriguing, the ending hints of a dreamscape
ReplyDeleteHave a nice Sunday
Much love...
One can only hope for different pictures to appear - none of those frightful ones. Nicely oldegg!
ReplyDeleteHank
Good one because I like the Dad showing up instead of demon. Sorta has a feel that teh kid is half asleep too.
ReplyDeleteA definite departure...but that hill sounds ominous. I like how you softened it with that final image. It does have a dreamy sense to it. Scary dreams are meant to wake us up...to consciousness and awareness.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth
Oh, this is so interesting! You've outdone yourself this time! It certainly must have been a dream.
ReplyDeleteThis piece is of a child probably sleepwalking coming downstairs. For those concerned about the hill. This is just the term used for the stairs when I was a child to get me "back up that wooden hill to bed".
ReplyDeleteGreat piece!
ReplyDeleteWOW! Completely caught by surprise at the end. :)
ReplyDeletehow interesting ... from the sandman of our childhood who took us off to sleep and who may sometime make us rest permanently. Fine poem!
ReplyDelete