Welcome to the 183rd Virtual Poetry Circle!
Remember, this is just for fun and is not meant to be stressful.
Keep in mind what Molly Peacock’s books suggested. Look at a line, a stanza, sentences, and images; describe what you like or don’t like; and offer an opinion. If you missed my review of her book, check it out here.
Also, sign up for the 2013 Dive Into Poetry Challenge because its simple; you only need to read 1 book of poetry. Please visit the stops on the 2012 National Poetry Month Blog Tour.
Today’s poem is from Ruby Urlocker:
Hidden People There’s a man between my bedroom floor And the wooden kitchen ceiling. I heard him once when I was younger, Before the walls started peeling And there I sat in the bedroom, reading And I heard the sound of feet. Loud echoing shoes from under me In sync with my heart beat. My mother told me it was nothing, My father only scoffed And as the rolling days went by They eventually forgot. One morning I combed my six year old hair And my reflection made me cry For instead of the freckled face I knew With glimmering mischievous eyes I saw a woman with skin like snow And eyes, two empty sockets, Grinning at me as I gasped in horror, My little hands clutching my pockets. Then she faded away and left me there, Crying my eyes out in hopeless despair And wondering why her long flowing hair Was only strands of cobwebs. When I was eight I became best friends With a boy who I found in my closet. He’d be there staring back at me Each time I unhooked the locket To my many clothes and things Because I wanted to see him again. We wrote down our hearts In permanent pen All across the closet wall And laughed and whispered until the nightfall When my mother would tuck me in. His eyes were the twinkling midnight sky As we talked of mystery And I did not stop to wonder why Nobody else could see him. As I grew older I did not sense As much of the secret world The figures slowly disappeared Along with the little girl. But even now I’m afraid of the dark And I wake up to somebody singing So far away that it’s more like a whisper That tingles and leaves my ears ringing. I used to think I’d never see My ghostly friends again When the silence between us was so long My conscience would pretend They never existed and I’d only dreamed Of the beautiful and horribleness My family had never seen. I put on makeup and watched more TV And detached the shadowy part of me. That playful and magical mystery Was a figure that lost its way In the sea of labels and one way traffic And words we’re forbidden to say. And I let my hair turn gray And my face grew wrinkles across it. The friendly spidery shadow of mine Turned to mist and I thought I had lost it Until last night when I turned on the light Of my dingy old bedroom closet And felt my questioning face turn white. There was a boy with tear-stained cheeks Who turned his head to me, A sparkling fragment lost in the storm And turned to a memory And an ignorant woman, taken by surprise Who met the gaze of his unforgiving eyes.
About the Poet:
Ruby Urlocker is a teenaged author, singer and songwriter. She has been writing and publishing stories since she was seven. Ruby lives with her family and dog, Rufus, a wheaten terrier. Monsters in my Closet is Ruby’s fourth book.
What do you think?
If you want to win a copy of Ruby’s book, please leave a comment below about the poem. U.S./Canada residents only
Deadline to enter is Jan. 11, 2013, at 11:59 PM EST
The poem was enchantingly creepy and also magical. Like Anna, I liked that it came full circle in the end. The rhythm bothered me a little because it kept changing, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.
I really liked this poem. It was haunting and creepy, and coming full circle at the end was very satisfying.
Wonderful, magical, and utterly enchanting. It played out like an award-winning film in my head and I absolutely loved it.