Poetry competition CLOSED 5th July 2013 11:29pm
WINNER
jaspersilence
jaspersilence
RUNNER-UP:
EngrVV
Abandoned Amusement Park
Poetry Contest Description
You've come across an amusement park abandoned many years ago and stop to explore.
What does it look like, all decrepit? What do you do while you are there? How does it make you feel? Any sounds or just the wind? What do you think it was like in it's heyday? --some questions to give you ideas.
Two weeks, no collabs, one entry per person, any style poem but not so long that DU needs to buy more bandwidth ! Enjoy!
Two weeks, no collabs, one entry per person, any style poem but not so long that DU needs to buy more bandwidth ! Enjoy!
REMEMBER
Residual energy echos past laughter,
and paints rapid shadows on cracked cement.
Overgrown carousels,with faded creatures,
forever mocked with the inability to move.
Yet they still wear eerie smiles under
the seasons dust.
Winding structures loom against the sky.
Structures designed to drop hearts,
and carry one,on a short,memorable ride into fear.
The homes of birds,dangle high midst the empty cars.
Tattered prizes of stuffed animals,hang from chains
inside small booths.
The wind rattles swaying signs reading,
"You must be this tall to ride."
I compare my height to the cartoon man
holding up his hand.
I feel the smiles and excitement drenching
the atmosphere.
I think of all the overcome fears,
and awkward first dates that once filled
this small area.
They are all but creaking memories,
left for a soul like me to ponder.
Residual energy echos past laughter,
and paints rapid shadows on cracked cement.
Overgrown carousels,with faded creatures,
forever mocked with the inability to move.
Yet they still wear eerie smiles under
the seasons dust.
Winding structures loom against the sky.
Structures designed to drop hearts,
and carry one,on a short,memorable ride into fear.
The homes of birds,dangle high midst the empty cars.
Tattered prizes of stuffed animals,hang from chains
inside small booths.
The wind rattles swaying signs reading,
"You must be this tall to ride."
I compare my height to the cartoon man
holding up his hand.
I feel the smiles and excitement drenching
the atmosphere.
I think of all the overcome fears,
and awkward first dates that once filled
this small area.
They are all but creaking memories,
left for a soul like me to ponder.
Haunted Park in Wv:
=================================================
http://io9.com/the-crumbling-chaos-of-abandoned-amusement-parks-514682250
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http://lostamusementparks.napha.org/Articles/WestVirginia/Lake%20Shawne%20Amusement%20Park.html
================================================
The fog rolls in the wind blows quietly.
The paint slowly crumbles.
The vast graveyards of these giants find serenity.
Throughout the World they crumble to ruin.
Forgotten thoroughfares of long ago.
But one in West Virgina had a secret.
Was it a curse or just an urban legend
made to attract those to this day to it???
Lake Shawnee Amusement Park – Princeton, West Virginia. Where if you listen the carnival sounds continue. Long beyond there limits!!
Unexplained noises echo in this emptied space.
Laughter, rides, and faint distance murmurs of
the past. Guaranteed to make you freeze in your tracks and take notice when they are cast.
Ancient Native Americans that once roamed these lands. Now this was there forgotten burial have
we unknowingly desecrated it?? With these now
collapsing metal heaps of the past. And there
curse in the end wins. This park didn't last.
But there spirits still walk these grounds and
whisper reminding us that we were here 1st. And we will still be here long after this ruin has
become indistinguishably barren and long forgotten.
=================================================
http://io9.com/the-crumbling-chaos-of-abandoned-amusement-parks-514682250
================================================
http://lostamusementparks.napha.org/Articles/WestVirginia/Lake%20Shawne%20Amusement%20Park.html
================================================
The fog rolls in the wind blows quietly.
The paint slowly crumbles.
The vast graveyards of these giants find serenity.
Throughout the World they crumble to ruin.
Forgotten thoroughfares of long ago.
But one in West Virgina had a secret.
Was it a curse or just an urban legend
made to attract those to this day to it???
Lake Shawnee Amusement Park – Princeton, West Virginia. Where if you listen the carnival sounds continue. Long beyond there limits!!
Unexplained noises echo in this emptied space.
Laughter, rides, and faint distance murmurs of
the past. Guaranteed to make you freeze in your tracks and take notice when they are cast.
Ancient Native Americans that once roamed these lands. Now this was there forgotten burial have
we unknowingly desecrated it?? With these now
collapsing metal heaps of the past. And there
curse in the end wins. This park didn't last.
But there spirits still walk these grounds and
whisper reminding us that we were here 1st. And we will still be here long after this ruin has
become indistinguishably barren and long forgotten.
Anonymous
“Silent Behemoths”
http://media02.hongkiat.com/urban-decay-photography/2446391227.jpg
A cool wind whistles
through the
Ferris wheel at
Magruder Park.
Sadly,
the sounds
of
blissful-laughter
taper into
the pitch-night.
It’s chilling here,
frightening to think
the ‘ole man
and his family
killed so many here.
Now,
metal-behemoths
lie in rust,
forever silent to
the gory-stories
they could tell.
http://media02.hongkiat.com/urban-decay-photography/2446391227.jpg
A cool wind whistles
through the
Ferris wheel at
Magruder Park.
Sadly,
the sounds
of
blissful-laughter
taper into
the pitch-night.
It’s chilling here,
frightening to think
the ‘ole man
and his family
killed so many here.
Now,
metal-behemoths
lie in rust,
forever silent to
the gory-stories
they could tell.
Dreams
A tent flaps and waves,
Covering a skeleton of games.
Yellows and reds once bright,
Forgoten, frayed, losing light.
A creak of pain
Screams the old rides.
To long left to rust,
A plauge of brown-
To spread is to die.
A sound echos through the maze,
Of lonely, twisted hopes.
The winds sound earily of laughter,
As if the park can dream.
In dreams, become reality.
Reality, a forgoten nightmare.
A tent flaps and waves,
Covering a skeleton of games.
Yellows and reds once bright,
Forgoten, frayed, losing light.
A creak of pain
Screams the old rides.
To long left to rust,
A plauge of brown-
To spread is to die.
A sound echos through the maze,
Of lonely, twisted hopes.
The winds sound earily of laughter,
As if the park can dream.
In dreams, become reality.
Reality, a forgoten nightmare.
Anonymous
http://www.whatsarahsees.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/rockawaybeachold1.jpeg
THE HAUNTED AMUSEMENT PARK
We lived by the sea and a large boardwalk
At one time there had been an amusement park
There had been fancy hotels and lots of fun
Until the fire of 1891 closed it down
Rumors had told us that ghosts still wandered
Parents did not bring their children there
Ghost-hunters and psychics came
We saw them on TV all the time
Then one day a boy ran away
Body turned up drowned on the shore
Near the amusement park said to be haunted
Police said it was suicide and closed the case
I had a friend who was born to a family
“Gypsies” she said and I believed her
Her mother told her not to come here
But we were young and longed to see
It was a hot June night, summer equinox
We would not be missed and took floodlights
Plus our cellphones, just in case
We were brave young women, skeptics too
There were only ruins there
We played in the sand
When it started getting dark
We got ready, camera in hand
Carmenia saw the people first
Running from a flaming hotel in a burst
Then I saw the boy that drowned
He came to me and said his sister did it
Carmenia took photos while I tried to understand
How a sister could kill her brother
Carmenia said she could hear the sounds
I started to smell the odor of wood burning
Then somehow my intuition turned on
Could hear the voices, feel the fear
See the people, multiple senses
Went back to the 1800s when this place was fun
I told the police while Carmenia told the psychics
Our peaceful world became a new amusement attraction
Only now they are coming for different reasons
Carmenia's photos showed ghosts in their season.
300 words
THE HAUNTED AMUSEMENT PARK
We lived by the sea and a large boardwalk
At one time there had been an amusement park
There had been fancy hotels and lots of fun
Until the fire of 1891 closed it down
Rumors had told us that ghosts still wandered
Parents did not bring their children there
Ghost-hunters and psychics came
We saw them on TV all the time
Then one day a boy ran away
Body turned up drowned on the shore
Near the amusement park said to be haunted
Police said it was suicide and closed the case
I had a friend who was born to a family
“Gypsies” she said and I believed her
Her mother told her not to come here
But we were young and longed to see
It was a hot June night, summer equinox
We would not be missed and took floodlights
Plus our cellphones, just in case
We were brave young women, skeptics too
There were only ruins there
We played in the sand
When it started getting dark
We got ready, camera in hand
Carmenia saw the people first
Running from a flaming hotel in a burst
Then I saw the boy that drowned
He came to me and said his sister did it
Carmenia took photos while I tried to understand
How a sister could kill her brother
Carmenia said she could hear the sounds
I started to smell the odor of wood burning
Then somehow my intuition turned on
Could hear the voices, feel the fear
See the people, multiple senses
Went back to the 1800s when this place was fun
I told the police while Carmenia told the psychics
Our peaceful world became a new amusement attraction
Only now they are coming for different reasons
Carmenia's photos showed ghosts in their season.
300 words
Tangled and tattered
Twisted and torn
Childhood memories
Lost in the storms
Disheveled rides abound
The hollow walls sound
The faint echos of cheer
Can be heard crystal clear
Dark and dismal
Disheveled and dreadful
Memories are lost
And the children's dreams end.
Twisted and torn
Childhood memories
Lost in the storms
Disheveled rides abound
The hollow walls sound
The faint echos of cheer
Can be heard crystal clear
Dark and dismal
Disheveled and dreadful
Memories are lost
And the children's dreams end.
dead park
shadows swarm from this once alive park
voices echo of the fun and laugther
im loosing my mind here
i can see the accident on the ferris wheel
smell the fire as the power box sets it all ablaze
hear the screams of the children being burned alive
feels the sadness of their souls
i see their ghosts everywhere
all gathered around the ash covered park
crying and screaming
running out of the mazes and stands
i run away as fast as i can
lock the old rusted fence
thats the last time i ever saw the dead park
shadows swarm from this once alive park
voices echo of the fun and laugther
im loosing my mind here
i can see the accident on the ferris wheel
smell the fire as the power box sets it all ablaze
hear the screams of the children being burned alive
feels the sadness of their souls
i see their ghosts everywhere
all gathered around the ash covered park
crying and screaming
running out of the mazes and stands
i run away as fast as i can
lock the old rusted fence
thats the last time i ever saw the dead park
All deceit and lies
the winds whistle blows,
time surely flies,
and only time knows.
Dreams live on they say,
but dreams will die if lost,
so find your happy times or they
are overgrown with moss.
I walk along these times to see
that everything I knew, is gone.
No longer is what I used to be,
no longer is, what I have known.
Children's laughter from far away,
what did time do to me?
I need to go but want to stay
and bring life to this old me.
Anonymous
If I made add a little something to spice this comp up, watch a few seconds of this video of an abandoned Ferris wheel, and set your mind to creepy 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8tH_i47E-U
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8tH_i47E-U
Rollercoaster: a monster?
http://www.thecoastercritic.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/ZydecoScream-Six-Flags-New-Orleans-300x198.jpg
Unison laughter filled the fragrant air
one summer – the weather was fair
Suddenly there was a cracking,
then a creaking… and smashing sounds
Bodies flying everywhere,
shrieking voices screaming for help,
then an eerie silence…
Ten bodies were hurled up in the air
including my sweet little Claire—
dead upon impact on the ground!
The rollercoaster’s screeching sound
was deafening to my ears,
as well as my sweet Claire’s final cry;
Her eyes holding back tears
showing me she had no fear.
The sights and sounds of that unfateful night
always play back in my weary mind
every time I pass by -
the old, abandoned amusement park…
The horrible scene keeps taunting me
as if I am the monster,
and not the rollercoaster!
Guilty conscience keeps bugging me
for taking my sweet little Claire
into a game of foolish dare;
Now my life is shattered,
losing its marbles—one by one………
http://www.thecoastercritic.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/ZydecoScream-Six-Flags-New-Orleans-300x198.jpg
Unison laughter filled the fragrant air
one summer – the weather was fair
Suddenly there was a cracking,
then a creaking… and smashing sounds
Bodies flying everywhere,
shrieking voices screaming for help,
then an eerie silence…
Ten bodies were hurled up in the air
including my sweet little Claire—
dead upon impact on the ground!
The rollercoaster’s screeching sound
was deafening to my ears,
as well as my sweet Claire’s final cry;
Her eyes holding back tears
showing me she had no fear.
The sights and sounds of that unfateful night
always play back in my weary mind
every time I pass by -
the old, abandoned amusement park…
The horrible scene keeps taunting me
as if I am the monster,
and not the rollercoaster!
Guilty conscience keeps bugging me
for taking my sweet little Claire
into a game of foolish dare;
Now my life is shattered,
losing its marbles—one by one………
