October 2024 Contest 2nd Place: "Out After Dark"

Published on 7 November 2024 at 12:57

"Out After Dark" by John Grim

Genre: Horror

*John Grim's musical inspiration for this poem was "Get Out," by Prospect Hill, a hard rock band from Boston, MA, USA.

Waning, warning, sunset fading

Withered leaves and autumn chill

(companions on your lamp-lit trek)

Dankly darken, night invading

Shifting light to test your will

(sends shakes and shivers down your neck)

Quickly, queerly, chill is growing

Icy bridge and misty brook

(a sight to test your steely nerve)

Blister, bluster, wind is blowing

Cross it quick, don't dare to look

(then head around the tree-lined curve)

Scraping, scratching, icy fingers

Monstrous trunks and creaking limbs

(beneath the trees you bravely tread)

Shiver, shudder, coldness lingers

Gusting wind, your lamp light dims

(your fear of dark fills you with dread)

Whimper, whisper, hearing voices

Shadows dance among the trees

(your fearful mind begins to race)

Fighting, fleeing, only choices

Glowing eyes! You lift your knees

(with pounding heart increase your pace)

Image Description: A sliver of moon glows in a dark sky. Wispy clouds are illuminated by the moon in shades of gray and brown.

Credit: Vino Li / Unsplash

Chitter, chatter, something's chasing

Up the steps and through the door

("Lock scary things outside," you say)

Comfy, cozy, heart stops racing

Warm and safe, afraid no more

(you've lived to fight another day)


From the Author

In my writing, regardless of genre, I explore the emotive.  Engaging readers with an interesting, well-written story is important, but my purpose goes beyond that.  When I write, I seek to captivate readers so they become immersed in the story and invest themselves emotionally in the characters and their circumstances.  Evoking human emotion through storytelling is what separates great writers from good writers, in my opinion.  That is where the magic resides.

-- John Grim

 

Discover more of John Grim's work on Booksie.

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