Ode (Owed) to Poe

Darkness falls, a banshee calls

the headless horseman rides tonight;

a veiled moon shines through Eastern pines

there’s not a single star in sight,

and in the dark the chill wind brings

the scurrying of furry things—

the whisper of  nocturnal  wings.

The spell is cast, our heart pumps faster

the fears inside begin to fester;

the moonlight casts an eerie pall

while spiders spin their silken webs

to catch the nightmares in our heads

above the sleeping masses crawl;

and I wonder…

  Is all this that we see or seem

      but a dream inside a dream?

A monster lives within us all

a fractured beast that never sleeps

disguised inside discordant minds.

Self-doubts arise, no turning back

like speeding train down one-way track—

if you look close, what will you find?

The cauldron boils, the potion reeks

of newts and toads and buzzard beaks;

   enchantments thrown into the fire…

Zombies rise with sunken eyes—

ghostly wraiths with sallow skin

tattered clothing, gruesome grin

   on the hunt with one desire.

The outer fringes of our sight

have raised the curtain to unveil

the hideous creatures of the night—

preoccupied inside our fear

of losing everything that’s dear

we’re  held immobile by the fright!

Our minds play games, “There’s nothing wrong”

yet  from our throat escapes a scream…

... So is it real, this fear we feel?

     Or but a dream inside a dream

© Ginny Brannan October 2019

I borrowed…okay, blatantly stole…the key phrase from Poe’s poem A Dream Within a Dream I honor and a bow to the “master” of  the macabre!