Poetry competition CLOSED 22nd June 2013 8:57pm
WINNER
Kou_Indigo (Karam L. Parveen-Ashton)
Kou_Indigo (Karam L. Parveen-Ashton)
RUNNER-UP:
Page_Writer
GHOST POEM or SHORT STORY
Anonymous
Poetry Contest Description
GHOST MYTHOLOGY, GHOST PICTURES, GHOST TALES
http://imgc.allpostersimages.com/images/P-473-488-90/38/3876/KJEJF00Z/posters/steve-donna-o-meara-ghost-in-the-hall-at-the-hawthorne-hotel-one-of-america-s-most-haunted.jpg
RULES
1. write a poem or a short story (flash fiction = 1000 or fewer words) = any genre
2. you can choose as your inspiration - the photo above or anything else........YES IT CAN BE A REAL LIFE EXPERIENCE
3. you may post up to 3 poems, old or new
4. no misspellings, grammatical errors
5. should LOOK professional
6. length.....no longer than 1000 words
7. have I forgotten something? more rules to come
**************************************************************
Ghost lore has a long and colorful history. The word ghost has been in use since the late sixteenth century. It derives from a more ancient term, gast, in the language that evolved into modern German.
For some time, ghost has usually signified the disembodied spirit of a deceased person. Earlier meanings still cling to this word, however. Gast originally referred to a terrifying rage. A person who experiences shock and terror can still be described as aghast (frightened by an angry ghost).
Two sharply contrasting beliefs about ghosts have long coexisted, sometimes in the same society. The good ghost appears to be related to the higher spirit of a deceased person; the dangerous ghost, though, might be the shadowy doppelganger or a higher soul that has turned evil.
MYTHICAL CHARACTERS
The two opposing ghostly prototypes are the angry ghost, dangerous because it is angry about being dead, having been killed in an unacceptable way, having been treated badly by family and community, or just plain inveterate nastiness; or the emotionally neutral ghost, the spiritual essence of the deceased that lingers or returns in order to warn, comfort, inspire, and protect the living, making its rounds amiably and harmlessly.
http://www.bellaterreno.com/art/a_mainchars/ghost/ghost.aspx
RULES
1. write a poem or a short story (flash fiction = 1000 or fewer words) = any genre
2. you can choose as your inspiration - the photo above or anything else........YES IT CAN BE A REAL LIFE EXPERIENCE
3. you may post up to 3 poems, old or new
4. no misspellings, grammatical errors
5. should LOOK professional
6. length.....no longer than 1000 words
7. have I forgotten something? more rules to come
**************************************************************
Ghost lore has a long and colorful history. The word ghost has been in use since the late sixteenth century. It derives from a more ancient term, gast, in the language that evolved into modern German.
For some time, ghost has usually signified the disembodied spirit of a deceased person. Earlier meanings still cling to this word, however. Gast originally referred to a terrifying rage. A person who experiences shock and terror can still be described as aghast (frightened by an angry ghost).
Two sharply contrasting beliefs about ghosts have long coexisted, sometimes in the same society. The good ghost appears to be related to the higher spirit of a deceased person; the dangerous ghost, though, might be the shadowy doppelganger or a higher soul that has turned evil.
MYTHICAL CHARACTERS
The two opposing ghostly prototypes are the angry ghost, dangerous because it is angry about being dead, having been killed in an unacceptable way, having been treated badly by family and community, or just plain inveterate nastiness; or the emotionally neutral ghost, the spiritual essence of the deceased that lingers or returns in order to warn, comfort, inspire, and protect the living, making its rounds amiably and harmlessly.
http://www.bellaterreno.com/art/a_mainchars/ghost/ghost.aspx
Weird Ghost Story
Wanders through the night
Every full moon it appears
In the air it floats
Riding the clouds with laughter
Driving every one insane
Gullible people
Heard about it and believe
Only you have doubts
Sifting through the dark rubbles
To find out shattered remains
Sad to know the truth
The body rose from the grave
Of your beloved
Reaching out to hold your hands
You vanished into thin air
Anonymous
PoeticEngineer - thank you for starting the competition with this great poem.
Life after
Are you my ghost of the past
That haunts my dreams
Tell me your secrets
So I may see
If our paths are laid for us
If fate is drawn
The pearly gates
Or the devils spawn
you are stuck
Your unknown to the worlds
Your fiery flow
So lightly uncurls
your not a ghost
And your not alone
Ill help if I can
To cure your saddened soul
Anonymous
“Like Déjà vu”
http://www.moonslipper.com/images/ghosts-of-st-michans-church-dublin-21345909.jpg
We’re living
inter-dimensional,
we’re definitely
not alone.
I see
things from
the corner of my eyes,
dark shadows moving.
I feel
the air swirling
nearby,
these ears flutter,
it send chills
down my spine.
I smell
odors mixed
with the present,
a dampness grips
my bones.
I touch
cool mist that
is electric,
as if alive.
I hear
voices crying
for deliverance
from chains,
earthbound on
this temporal plane,
screaming for the door
to open,
a release.
And like déjà vu,
we know it,
we’ve
been here,
done this
before.
http://www.moonslipper.com/images/ghosts-of-st-michans-church-dublin-21345909.jpg
We’re living
inter-dimensional,
we’re definitely
not alone.
I see
things from
the corner of my eyes,
dark shadows moving.
I feel
the air swirling
nearby,
these ears flutter,
it send chills
down my spine.
I smell
odors mixed
with the present,
a dampness grips
my bones.
I touch
cool mist that
is electric,
as if alive.
I hear
voices crying
for deliverance
from chains,
earthbound on
this temporal plane,
screaming for the door
to open,
a release.
And like déjà vu,
we know it,
we’ve
been here,
done this
before.
Anonymous
These poems are excellent
Thank you to all who posted and supported the competition
Room for more bone chilling.....
Thank you to all who posted and supported the competition
Room for more bone chilling.....
Anonymous
Thanks Indie.....
Anonymous
Dead Time
Let's turn the lights off, dance like lovers,
we have no eyes, but they who watch
show us how to touch.
Let us be your voyeurs in the
living.
Our time to walk among the flesh, not wanting
to say our goodbyes, and yet some go mad
waiting in between...
Love ones call us, and their tears cannot remorse.
Sometimes we laugh and play tricks, sometimes
we kneel and be silent, then there are those
with harmful intent, standing in a blackened
pool of dread...
Conjuring us with candles and chants, how silly
they sit and look, so serious while we are just visiting.
Why are we not wanted when this is our life, our feet
touching the surface?
I feel lost, losing my voice.
3:00 a.m is almost over, and again I will
find myself here, here in this place, restlessly
wondering who invades my home, only wanting to
sleep......
Let's turn the lights off, dance like lovers,
we have no eyes, but they who watch
show us how to touch.
Let us be your voyeurs in the
living.
Our time to walk among the flesh, not wanting
to say our goodbyes, and yet some go mad
waiting in between...
Love ones call us, and their tears cannot remorse.
Sometimes we laugh and play tricks, sometimes
we kneel and be silent, then there are those
with harmful intent, standing in a blackened
pool of dread...
Conjuring us with candles and chants, how silly
they sit and look, so serious while we are just visiting.
Why are we not wanted when this is our life, our feet
touching the surface?
I feel lost, losing my voice.
3:00 a.m is almost over, and again I will
find myself here, here in this place, restlessly
wondering who invades my home, only wanting to
sleep......
Anonymous
This is a great submission Stryder
The White Lady
Ten miles before reaching the city proper is a long stretch of long and winding road with marvelous cliffs overlooking the deep blue sea. Such a magnificent view for unsuspecting onlookers! But during the night, this place is haunted and avoided by many, especially the locals. This place has been a site of grim and horrifying tales of deadly car accidents at exactly the same time and date every year supposedly caused by a ghost, "The White Lady" because she is said to be dressed in white.
This is how it all started. Ten years ago, there was a beautiful young bride in her early twenties who was on the way to church for her wedding. Along that beautiful stretch of winding road, she was abducted by one of her ardent suitors and his four friends. She was gang-raped and thrown into the ravine, left for dead on that early first Sunday morning of June. This case was left unsolved for lack of evidence and witnesses. Needless to say, justice was not served.
A year after that horrible crime, a car accident happened near the place where the body of the beautiful young bride was found. The car driver who lived to tell his tale said, "I saw this lady all dressed in white floating in the air, as I turned around the bend. I was both surprised and terrifed, as I tried to avoid her unknowingly, steering my car towards the cliff until it fell."
This car accident and the ghost story became the talk of the city for awhile until it slowly died down. Until another accident happened on the same date and about the same time, a year after. The driver and his only passenger, one of the ardent suitors, did not survive. People in the city began speculating and thus, rumor has it that "The White Lady" is out there every year trying to find her assailants and to avenge her death. The main reason why there was no death in the first accident was because he was not guilty of the crime, and those two dead victims of the accident were guilty of the heinous crime committed against the "White Lady," as the people were already connecting the dots; thus the ghost story about the "White Lady" began spreading like wild fire!
Every year there are reported car accidents in the same place on the same date but no casualty. It looks like the "White Lady" will not stop hunting his killers until all of them are dead; so far, there are three more left. So just in case you happen to be sight seeing in Holy Angels, just avoid the first Sunday of June to avoid any mishap. But if you're one of those daring souls, and non-believer in ghosts, I dare you to come...visit us.
Ten miles before reaching the city proper is a long stretch of long and winding road with marvelous cliffs overlooking the deep blue sea. Such a magnificent view for unsuspecting onlookers! But during the night, this place is haunted and avoided by many, especially the locals. This place has been a site of grim and horrifying tales of deadly car accidents at exactly the same time and date every year supposedly caused by a ghost, "The White Lady" because she is said to be dressed in white.
This is how it all started. Ten years ago, there was a beautiful young bride in her early twenties who was on the way to church for her wedding. Along that beautiful stretch of winding road, she was abducted by one of her ardent suitors and his four friends. She was gang-raped and thrown into the ravine, left for dead on that early first Sunday morning of June. This case was left unsolved for lack of evidence and witnesses. Needless to say, justice was not served.
A year after that horrible crime, a car accident happened near the place where the body of the beautiful young bride was found. The car driver who lived to tell his tale said, "I saw this lady all dressed in white floating in the air, as I turned around the bend. I was both surprised and terrifed, as I tried to avoid her unknowingly, steering my car towards the cliff until it fell."
This car accident and the ghost story became the talk of the city for awhile until it slowly died down. Until another accident happened on the same date and about the same time, a year after. The driver and his only passenger, one of the ardent suitors, did not survive. People in the city began speculating and thus, rumor has it that "The White Lady" is out there every year trying to find her assailants and to avenge her death. The main reason why there was no death in the first accident was because he was not guilty of the crime, and those two dead victims of the accident were guilty of the heinous crime committed against the "White Lady," as the people were already connecting the dots; thus the ghost story about the "White Lady" began spreading like wild fire!
Every year there are reported car accidents in the same place on the same date but no casualty. It looks like the "White Lady" will not stop hunting his killers until all of them are dead; so far, there are three more left. So just in case you happen to be sight seeing in Holy Angels, just avoid the first Sunday of June to avoid any mishap. But if you're one of those daring souls, and non-believer in ghosts, I dare you to come...visit us.
A Friendship That Knew No Bounds
I once had a friend who pretended he was alive
He came to me in my sleep as I dreamt one night
We sat and reminisced about the memories we had
We put to rest ill will and were finally able to laugh
About stupid things we had done and bad advice we had followed
We confessed emotional scars we felt had made us both so hollow
We debated about religion and if there was an afterlife
Though this was his favorite topic, he turned and said goodnight
I couldn't help but feel that I had hurt him in some way
So I decided I'd apologize and went to see him the next day
But when I got to his house his parents were both crying
His father was consoling and his mother was denying
I asked them what was wrong and if there was some way I could help
His mother said the psychiatrist told them not to blame themselves
His father told me they all argued, that he drove off and lost control
He hit a couple trees and his car did a barrel roll
The police said there was nothing the paramedics could have done
So there we three sat and mourned a best friend and a son
I once had a friend who pretended he was alive
He came to me in my sleep as I dreamt one night
We sat and reminisced about the memories we had
We put to rest ill will and were finally able to laugh
About stupid things we had done and bad advice we had followed
We confessed emotional scars we felt had made us both so hollow
We debated about religion and if there was an afterlife
Though this was his favorite topic, he turned and said goodnight
I couldn't help but feel that I had hurt him in some way
So I decided I'd apologize and went to see him the next day
But when I got to his house his parents were both crying
His father was consoling and his mother was denying
I asked them what was wrong and if there was some way I could help
His mother said the psychiatrist told them not to blame themselves
His father told me they all argued, that he drove off and lost control
He hit a couple trees and his car did a barrel roll
The police said there was nothing the paramedics could have done
So there we three sat and mourned a best friend and a son
Late Last Night
I should sleep
I've been up too long now thinking of her
How did she get this far?
How did she breach my defenses?
I set them up so perfectly:
Victim, Idealist, Weakness, Humility, Humanity, Circumstance, Friendship, Flattery, Care, Commitment, Apologies, Responsibility, Denial, and Discipline.
Layer after layer I set them up and she just seeped through them Like a ghost, but more
And much, much too real
She's everywhere I turn, everywhere I look
Everywhere I could possibly run to get away from her she is already there...
Lying in wait
I can sense her presence even here
And if I reach out my hand I can almost feel the warmth that would radiate from her body
Touch betrays me with her skin
It is just as I imagined
She trembles a bit and her muscles pull taut as my fingertips create her every inch
Eagerly, she comes to life and her retractions become the slow, purposeful undulations of a dancer
The darkness hides her eyes but I know they are fixed on me
Piercing and searching a 'me' that has been laid bare and defenseless
Sweat soon moistens her skin and the light it catches reveals the curves of her impossible form
My hand will not move
It has waited too long for this contact and touch betrayed me with her warmth
She comes closer, unceasing in her rhythm
Her hands press against me
"This is a dream, damn it!" my mind screams
But she has no care for my idle thoughts
She is alive for now and tonight she will live
She draws nearer and her hands glide upward over my chest, creating me for herself just as I created her
Our eyes finally meet
The comforting vortices pull me into her web and coolly invite abandon
They are just as I imagined them
Her fingers meet behind my head and clasp,
Holding me a prisoner willing
The silken strands of her hair drape across my collar and her sweet breath heats my cheeks for just the moment before our lips meet and meld
She is everywhere I turn
Enveloping me
Enfolding me into her
My arms jump from my side, where I bid them before to stay,
but at their intended mark they meet with only ether and she is gone
The muscles of my abdomen release and return me to my chair as the familiar bewilderment subsides
I should sleep
I've been up too long now thinking of her
I should sleep
I've been up too long now thinking of her
How did she get this far?
How did she breach my defenses?
I set them up so perfectly:
Victim, Idealist, Weakness, Humility, Humanity, Circumstance, Friendship, Flattery, Care, Commitment, Apologies, Responsibility, Denial, and Discipline.
Layer after layer I set them up and she just seeped through them Like a ghost, but more
And much, much too real
She's everywhere I turn, everywhere I look
Everywhere I could possibly run to get away from her she is already there...
Lying in wait
I can sense her presence even here
And if I reach out my hand I can almost feel the warmth that would radiate from her body
Touch betrays me with her skin
It is just as I imagined
She trembles a bit and her muscles pull taut as my fingertips create her every inch
Eagerly, she comes to life and her retractions become the slow, purposeful undulations of a dancer
The darkness hides her eyes but I know they are fixed on me
Piercing and searching a 'me' that has been laid bare and defenseless
Sweat soon moistens her skin and the light it catches reveals the curves of her impossible form
My hand will not move
It has waited too long for this contact and touch betrayed me with her warmth
She comes closer, unceasing in her rhythm
Her hands press against me
"This is a dream, damn it!" my mind screams
But she has no care for my idle thoughts
She is alive for now and tonight she will live
She draws nearer and her hands glide upward over my chest, creating me for herself just as I created her
Our eyes finally meet
The comforting vortices pull me into her web and coolly invite abandon
They are just as I imagined them
Her fingers meet behind my head and clasp,
Holding me a prisoner willing
The silken strands of her hair drape across my collar and her sweet breath heats my cheeks for just the moment before our lips meet and meld
She is everywhere I turn
Enveloping me
Enfolding me into her
My arms jump from my side, where I bid them before to stay,
but at their intended mark they meet with only ether and she is gone
The muscles of my abdomen release and return me to my chair as the familiar bewilderment subsides
I should sleep
I've been up too long now thinking of her
well it wasn't really a ghost, i think it was a demon
when i was eleven
i told my father i saw an angel
because i was too afraid to tell him
it was probably really a demon
he said there was no way i had
because the only way one could
was if god had a divine purpose for you.
but i was walking alone in the woods
on the old railroad tracks
that are now just a gravel path
on the other side of the street
as my house
when out from the trees
came a hunched over black smug
with glowing red eyes
and a stance
that was very
...
nonhuman like.
it stood a good few yards
in the distance from me
when it stopped for a second
and just stared
before running off
back into the trees.
i rubbed my eyes a second
then just sort of fell down
when i woke up
it was dark
i walked all the way home
trance like state
and i kept my mouth shut
until this day.
sometimes i think back
on what my father had said
and i wonder now
if it was a demon
what that meant?
when i was eleven
i told my father i saw an angel
because i was too afraid to tell him
it was probably really a demon
he said there was no way i had
because the only way one could
was if god had a divine purpose for you.
but i was walking alone in the woods
on the old railroad tracks
that are now just a gravel path
on the other side of the street
as my house
when out from the trees
came a hunched over black smug
with glowing red eyes
and a stance
that was very
...
nonhuman like.
it stood a good few yards
in the distance from me
when it stopped for a second
and just stared
before running off
back into the trees.
i rubbed my eyes a second
then just sort of fell down
when i woke up
it was dark
i walked all the way home
trance like state
and i kept my mouth shut
until this day.
sometimes i think back
on what my father had said
and i wonder now
if it was a demon
what that meant?
