She Came Upon a Midnight Clear (That Gory Lass, Gryla, of Old)
Midnight, and the whispers begin
The naughty kids cower in fear
Gryla is coming to feast on their sin
The ogre- troll soon will appear
Fifteen tails, three heads with three eyes
And horns of a goat at each side
Ears to her nose, sniffing demise
The naughty have nowhere to hide
Mouth like a quarry, teeth as stone
A hunger for flesh boiled in broth
Grinding to powder every bone
Enjoying their bubble and froth
Beards on each chin braided as twigs
A foul anthem seethed in her harm
Iceland's children, her little pigs
And tenderness she plans to farm
Leaving the mountain set to eat
The giantess has bags on each tail
Filling them full with mortal meat
She laughs as they bellow and wail
Clicking and clacking, hooves for feet
Exasperate horror and dread
Smirking and smacking, oh, the treat
For soon boys and girls will be dead
Yule Lads, thirteen, hover around
The offspring of Gryla's design
Sneaking and snatching, they have found
Employment's mischievous shrine
Sheep Cote Clog fancies wooly sheep
And Gully Gawk downs the cow's milk
Stubby takes pies he plans to keep
And Spoon Licker steals his name's ilk
Pot Scraper ravages old food
And Bowl Licker licks clean the bowl
Door Slammer wakes you, being quite rude
And Skyr Gobbler gobbles things whole
Window Peeper keeps a look out
As Sausage Swiper swipes the pork
Doorway sniffer sniffs bread about
And Meat Hook takes food off the fork
Candle Stealer steals all the light
And leaves naughty kids in the dark
Gryla comes this unholy night
Her children have left her their mark
Once her new catches fill her need
A summons ensures blood goes 'splat'
Beastly brutality will feed
As comes her own pet, the Yule Cat
Ravaging any and all left
Those children without new clothing
Fill the beast's belly- lost, bereft
As folly sating its loathing
Red on the doorways; bloody streets
A bloodbath beneath every tree
Nothing but pieces; tattered sheets
Removed for sad parents to see
Thirteen Lads head home with a grin
As Gryla and her Yule Cat dine
Midnight, and the whispers begin
The blood of the kids becomes wine
A Dark December
Midnight, and the whispers begin.
I'm morphing shapes and shedding skin.
A devil's curse donned once a year
Awakened in December drear.
Every night, the whispers rave
Punish those who've misbehaved!
And every December night, I morph
To discipline deviance without remorse.
Horned and cloven, the naughty gleam
And muffled whispers turn to screams
As I heed the call in my demon ear
To seek and punish--incite fear!
And perhaps they will behave next year.
Now, who am I? Must you ask??
A demon bearing quite the task
I'm no Saint Nick--quite the opposite.
Damnable. Ghastly. Monstrous.
Perhaps you've heard of me...?
I am Krampus.
The Wedding is Off!
Midnight and the whispers begin.
Christmas festivities slinking to end
premonitions flow in on vicious wind
fear congeals blood in icy eggnog
deer prance through what will never be
evil reverberates in paralyzed elves
wail of the storm lambastes my core
snow cloaks my windows so I can’t see
evening eyes hide under darkened veil
black wedding clouds sink in plain sight
shrouded in wreathed tears of loss
rhythms withdraw from spasmodic promises
shifting breeze hides scattered confetti
blowing away dreams of royal crowns
anxiety runs through champagne veins
massive void where no guests remain
sugar plums never sampled by sprites
soggy garlands strewn about the ruins
squeezed by the cold fist of cancellation
my dreams ride off in a broken sleigh
wicked Santa is nowhere to be seen
The Christmas Wedding is off!
Renditions of the Night
Midnight, and the whispers begin
Where a familiar darkness settles in
Pavements breathe steam conflicting with the icy air
Metaphors of original sin
Where lovers sing tactile songs of lust and desire
Human embers hotter than any fire
Burning brightly under the stars
In the royal blue and orange wash of the night
Staining the structures of the city
Under a crescent moon
It seems the night has a vanilla grin
That holds the secrets of dusk
Known only to the pious ones that worship the moon
Anointed in midnight oil
Awash with neon and smoke from outdoor bars
or lost in the subconscious of other streets
The subtlety of the trees as they sway to nocturnal beats
The pulse
The rhythmic flicker that is beyond control
And always calling, beckoning to those that know
The excitement carried in mysterious depths
Ingested into thoughts that weave pixels onto digital screens
That stain the sheets of paper reams
Renditions of the night that escape your dreams...
© Richard Withey. All rights reserved.
The Night of Rosie
Midnight, and the whispers begin
I cannot wake from this transient plane I find so often
So I now follow them closely, instead, and wait
Patiently for the words that will still echo come morning
A child tonight
With a worn cotton rabbit hanging losely in frail arms
Standing a hair's width from my right cheek
She is only present in the peripheral with my eyes sealed shut
Dishwater hair and the eyes of a frightened fawn
She needs her mommy, but mommy is gone
Knobby knees beneath a white hem, she is not sobbing
But she is confused and unaware of her hidden frequency
Between these lines of awake and asleep is a consciousness
Where she and others exist in a limbo state of frozen time
The whispers begin low and static, jumbled and nonsensical
Until you know to listen for strings that join them
I ask through my silence for what is remembered
Never more than bursts of scattered pictures
And she creaks into a chilled calm, a statue
It is midnight, and the visions begin
Rosie, she stands on a wooden deck
A farmhouse white and sundial behind stringy locks
She is alone and waiting, maybe seven
A worn cotton rabbit hanging losely in frail arms
Clay red and cracks beneath bare feet
I am running from the laughter of boys unseen
But close behind, menacing and mischievous
Until an electric bash to the back of my skulls pulls me conscious
But I drop down quickly again to a sharp blue rush
A cluster of air pockets escape above as I sink
Sun fading into a black wet tunnel, cold and muted
I am heavy and loose and drifting to sleep
The girl is gone when my eyes shoot open
And I know she'll not return
She only came to seek an ear
To drown in sunken midnight whispers
Midnight Misgivings
Midnight and the whispers begin...
Resist temptation, be absolved of your sin.
Self-Doubt & Self-Hatred wave hello.
Indecision ponders which way I should go.
My dark, bitter heart has grown a hard shell.
Paralyzing Fear emits a palpable smell.
Anxiety strangles, it robs me of breath.
Prince Charming took off, now I love Death.
Jealousy's biting with her sharpest teeth.
Cowardice keeps me pinned underneath.
Insecurity's loud, demanding attention;
Insecurity breeds crippling apprehension.
Vanity in beauty, beauty is my Shame.
Pain pulsates into Pleasure,
I like them both the same.
Regret keeps me locked in choices I made.
Pride has grown weary, battered & frayed.
The questions I ask seek your validation....
The love I lament seeks your degradation.....
The Darkness offers his blackest embrace....
Jesus Our Lord offers His Saving Grace.
I stumble, tripped up by my contradictions.
Self-destruction's my drug,
and I feed my addictions.
Portals
Midnight, and the whispers begin.
Only because a life full of sin.
You hear the echoes in your head.
While you still sit there and listen to the dead.
"Do. it.", They tell you
"I see you", they say
While you just sit there.
And you wither away.
The Portals open and they come crawling through.
If they can get to me, they can get you too.
~simone~
Mid-summer banquet
Midnight and the whispers began
lonely voices hanging in the corner
fake smiles plastered onto to porcelain skin
silk trimmed dresses tailored to perfection
breast agape with fear
small -footsteps cascade down from the stairs
red-lipped and tipped and dipped perfections
burn holes into the maiden
whose eyes gleam with luster
hands dressed in lace enlaced in envy as they press their hatred for her in her hands
casual looks at how effortlessly she approaches and embodies the night
how she holds her smiles tight
her teeth daunting and alluring
she looks at you as if she could swallow you in all one bite.
her gaze leaves you feeling hazed
her looks aren't tamed she is a wild beauty
her ghastly appearance hangs over you
like your conscience.
voices follow her as she emerges
into the banquet hall
they pelt stares and mistrusting looks
at her body questioning thoughts and unanswered questions
her presence is almost ghostly
the ballroom quivers and shivers
over the cold draft hang in the air
the walls screech and shake and at every step she silents the room
as her shoes hit the floor
a whisper so gentle, yet so violent sharper than a knife could kill a soul
Midnight and the whispers began
a hush of the mouth
a quick slip
an innocent misspoken lie
a daunting answer
a misstep
an honest mistake
a little white lie
and a little accident happen at night
she felt there envy and murderous thoughts caving into her mind
so she picks up the knife so gently caressed in her breast and pushes it into her heart
she was already dead she thought she should come back and visit.
Time to Hide
Midnight, and the whispers begin
with loud echoes and plans to do harm
from the demons inside of my skin.
Unable to sound the alarm
as the demons all try to escape
with loud echoes and plans to do harm.
Horrid visions of murder and rape
while the doors in my mind open wide
and the demons all try to escape.
Far too many to hold them inside,
I finally give in to their screams
while the doors in my mind open wide.
As the voices tell me their dark dreams,
my resistance is futile at best.
I finally give in to their screams.
Accepting these bitter requests
with a smile and a gleam in my eye,
my resistance is futile at best.
The fell beasts in my mind I let fly
with a smile and a gleam in my eye!
'Tis midnight, and the whispers begin
from the demons inside of my skin.
(c) 2016 - dustygrein
(a terzanelle in anapestic trimeter)
Playback
Midnight, and the whispers begin. The screaming stops when each day ends. Back to a murmuring susurus of creep. I close my eyes and gratefully sleep.
And startle awake as the talking starts. A childish chorus with male and female parts. He says he's glad to be alive and going to school. She says mommy and daddy will miss us fool. Soon they'll be yelling, I can tell. I stumble from bed for a day in Hell.
I know that I did it but nobody knows. I'm such a snake that none of it shows. But they're in my mind, and that cannot be. All that they are is under that tree.
I'm out of coffee; I head to the store. Suddenly somehow I can stand no more. I cover my ears and scream and fall. They come for me as I lay in a ball. Clawing my face and tearing my hairs. I hear them both screaming their prayers!