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Open Poetry #46
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Andrew Scott
Member Elite
since 1999-06-24
Posts 2558
Redlands,CA,USA

0 posted 2010-10-31 02:00 PM


In the hour long of night
And shy of day
When neither moon nor sun
Shine so bright
Cold stretches out its ghostly tendrils
To enfold a valley home
There, slowly taking hold
Strangling every sound to silence
It seeks the lakeside shed of Bocephous Jones

Sixty-some years Bo’s known the fog
And in their time, father and grand
Each knew the chill of this same hour.
The morning’s silence echoes countless years
Where no ripple roams the shore
Stillness presides
A mirror of mist
And grave reflections

Bo doesn’t like to swim.

Mornings before the sun
Bo brews his joe with a touch of grain
Loads equal amount to his flint
And takes his black comfort against the chill
To stand rocking chair vigil on his porch with Dog.

All is quiet in that hour.

Slowly
Memories seep in like mist
Shadows to shade the soup
And Bo thinks of wife Lorraine
Who bore son Lonnie
Both gone now
Gone a’swimmin’
Lonnie to the lake two winters past
Lorraine more seasons than Bo can count
But Bo’s got nowhere to go
And the fog gets thicker each passing year

Bo’s not usually prone to the call
But memories drip thick this morning
Each a weight in the waters of regret
Dragging him down
Deeper and deeper
Through the murky depths of despair
Like a syrup steeped in sadness
And self destruction
If not for Dog he’d have drown

A warning bark breaks the binds of memory
And Bo swims back to shore
Where he wakes with a jolt
Wet with sweat
Spilt coffee
And something like lake water
Bo knows how close he came
Dog gives a Dog look
Bo returns a Bo look
With a scratch that says “Thanks!”
And turns his gaze to the white haze
Bo knows he almost went a’swimmin’
It’ll be a two-bone bowl for Dog this day

Plucking O’Betsy from the porch
Bo takes aim at nothing
And everything
Pulls back the hammer
And triggers a new day
With a flash pan spark of sound
That shouts at the sun
As it peeks over the mountain tops
Black powder smoke and daylight
Drive the ghosts
From shed and valley
Chasing them back through
Passes and canyons
To their elderich home
Sealed away for another day

But tomorrow brings another chance
In this age old game
And Bo looks tired and wet

The lake never sleeps

© Copyright 2010 Andrew Scott - All Rights Reserved
Amaryllis
Senior Member
since 2010-05-20
Posts 1306
Mi now
1 posted 2010-10-31 02:09 PM


Absolutely magnificent... this is a perfection!  I really really enjoyed... truly captivating, as it pulls the reader along in fascination... it`s so deliciously creepy, in an understated voice that fits perfectly, so that the reader is unaware of the N, but simply absorbed into the story.
.
Fabulous ending, too. I`m fawning.
.
Thanks for sharing this~
Amaryllis

Andrew Scott
Member Elite
since 1999-06-24
Posts 2558
Redlands,CA,USA
2 posted 2010-10-31 02:50 PM


Thanks Amaryllis... This has always been one of my personal favorites. I thought I might drag it up from the archives for this particular day. Hope yall don't mind.

"We'll chase them like rats across the tundra."

Cpat Hair
Deputy Moderator 1 Tour
Member Patricius
since 2001-06-05
Posts 11793

3 posted 2010-10-31 03:52 PM


a fitting repost indeed!

along with the other two it tells a story without slepping the reader across the face, leaving room for imagination and the imagery you use to set a mood as well as a scene.

good stuff sir....

Andrew Scott
Member Elite
since 1999-06-24
Posts 2558
Redlands,CA,USA
4 posted 2010-10-31 04:56 PM


Cpat Hair: I bow to you and yours in gratitude for your kind words. I'm glad that it reads like a story. I too, like the feel of this one. I've always preferred the horror you can't see to the in-your-face blood and guts of today's horror movies. Today's horror seems to be more about how gross and vile can we make it, instead of developing the true subtleties of the genre.  I guess it goes hand-in-hand with the instant gratification needs of today’s generation.  Again, thanks for the read and write.

"We'll chase them like rats across the tundra."

Earl Brinkman
Senior Member
since 2010-03-03
Posts 1183
Osaka, Japan
5 posted 2010-11-01 08:32 PM


A fine tale indeed.  You have a knack for holding the reader`s interest.
Andrew Scott
Member Elite
since 1999-06-24
Posts 2558
Redlands,CA,USA
6 posted 2010-11-01 10:08 PM


Earl: Glad you enjoyed. Thanks for the read and write.

"We'll chase them like rats across the tundra."

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