The Haunting of the Lake House
Written this last Tuesday of the month of October
For @dVersePoets #OpenLinkNight
October 30, 2012
I walk among these my woods
My sweet Ozark Mountain hills
Towering over my landscape
Building a new sky dome
It ‘s cold and wet
This early autumn morn
Patches of fog lift over Lake Ann
Faces stare pass me
Morning’s calls of red-capped Pileated Woodpeckers
Carving out the veins for fresh Ravens’ desire
Good morning my dear, my dear
Are you alone today?
The lake waters stop mid-way
As waters depart over the dam
Traces of nightmares
Sure what my confinement exaggerates
Upon these standing walls
For over thirty years
Shadows play within and dance
Upon my walled possessions
Shadows play within and dance
Upon my walled possessions
Musical movements in light
Plays streaming across the night
No wallpaper found here
Only walls of yellowed-paint
My lakeside room framed
By massive oak beams
Cross the entire course of ceiling
From eye to beam to beam
Shadows wait in the high corners
Waiting for me to respond
To know
To perhaps finally sleep
Among the fairy dust
Upon these Ozark Mountain hills
And shadowed walls
Do you care today?
These hallowed views of floating faces
A six-year-old blond curly-haired girl
Standing bemused framed by a window
As other spirits join in her dance
Through an open doorway of a darkened room
Standing and then moving through
White lights and clusters find
Orbs floating by
A strange writing upon my walls
These ghostly images
And hauntings
Like mirages
They weave in and out
As my third-eye dwells
Trapped by ceiling lights
And shadowed walls
Mere reflections of captured spirits
Playful during this morning’s light
Ceiling faces tumble with ease
Over my heart
Reaching for my soul
Longing whispers
Light and shadows
I plunge into unknown dreams
Then I awaken
By the sheer depth of time
I sit here
Surrounded by insanity
My dwelling falls into
A deep denial
Are you only keeping life at bay?
Waiting, waiting, waiting . . .
This struck me like a watercolor with dreamy hints of mercurial waters, time's passage, and darker things. An insinuating fear, a subtle approach that worked much better than a jump out boo!
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Joanie! You've done a fantastic job setting the mood and tone of the piece…love the fog, the shadows…where our darker selves hide…let alone the darker others! Loved it 🙂
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Hi Susie! Thanks so much for stopping in and for taking time to share.
Thank you for your kind words. “Internal struggle and haunted memories” offer good insights to poem. Thanks again, -joanie
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Scary piece…I feel an internal struggle and a haunted memory. Great job!!
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Hi gardenlilie! Thanks for stopping by and for taking time to leave your comments — so appreciated! Glad you enjoyed the read!
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Perfect and the walls and old, the third eye dwells…that's good! Thanks for the treat. I'd be running outta there so fast. gardenlilie.com
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Hi Jacquie! Thank you for stopping in tonight and taking time to write your comments. Always a treasure — glad you liked my write. It is the very first time that I have tried to write something 'scary' — 🙂
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Yes, it is indeed the time of the season! Thanks for stopping by tonight and for your comments. Thank you —
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Thank you Jessica for stopping by and for your share. I am so glad you felt the poem was scary — cool! I do see one of my struggles is being along and indeed facing my own fears of the unknown.
Good insight, Jessica! Again, thanks for reading!
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Thank you Brain for stopping by tonight! This is my very first time to write something in the 'scary' mode. I took this photo of light/shadows on my lakeside room's ceiling. And in looking at my photo, many of the shadows looked like faces… so I had kept the photo as an inspiration for my write.
The girl in the poem is what I thought one of the faces looked like(from the photo). I think I see her as representing innocence and the passing of time.
Again thank you for taking time to read and share.
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I had occasion to visit the beautiful and haunting Ozarks many years ago, and your lovely poem brought back vivid memories. This one is gently creepy, and haunting..a lovely write, Joanie…and perfect for the season. Excelsior!
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Haunting indeed. Definitely October. I am sure. Scary as written.
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There is something scary and desparate about this. It gives me the feeling of being alone and facing down my demons.
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intriguing verse…it makes me wonder at the cause for this person, the spirit of the little girl is most troubling, the writing on the wall a great image…felt this…
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