this is today's poem for my PAD group. my theme is fear, today's prompt was to create or use an existing myth.
usually wouldn't double post, but someone (robbie) might want to check it out...
(untitled so far)
Every ten-year-old is afraid
of ghosts and monsters,
because they don’t know any better.
And teens shudder at urban legends,
even when they know they never happened.
But eventually, people see how silly
all these crazy stories are,
and outgrow the effects of folklore.
Now that I have grown up,
its time to dispel the myths;
demons do exist, but not like the
campfire tales we hid from as kids,
and no amount of covers can save us
from them—
Spooks in sheets are scary things,
but spooks in black suits who snoop
and defy our liberties are what really
frighten me.
Frankenstein’s beast, with pieces
of every poor soul beneath a headstone
had no chance at being loved.
But at least he didn’t try to hide
from the citizen’s cries,
like the lies and shady deals
intertwined in every collaborative
Congressional bill.
Dracula, with no soul,
survives on the lifeblood
of others, while dining in his
castle all alone.
With resigned honor he reigned,
unlike the vampIRS of
today, who choose to live
on what runs through our veins.
You’ll run out of breath,
trying to summon Bloody Mary
from the mirror; nothing appears
when you call there, no matter
how many times you stand
in the dark and whisper,
“Medicare, Medicare, Medicare….”
Haunted houses have hundreds of years
of terror in their walls.
But the Houses today boast only
Fifty-five and Sixty—average age;
those numbers make my skin crawl.
Some myths, even still, are
supported by the powers on the Hill.
They even commissioned the
Department of Ignorance,
to keep us off their trail.
And to feed Cerberus,
the Three-Headed mutt,
entrusted to guard the River Potomac,
so no one can crack the mask
that hides truth, and lies,
all at the same time.
You’d think their resources could
afford a more convincing disguise.
I was that kid, afraid of many things
that go ‘bump’ in the night.
And still am, sometimes,
lying alone in bed without a light.
But if someone asks,
“Are You Afraid of the Dark?”
I’ll say, “I am, but only
when I’m watching C-SPAN.
