Just a kid
hardly knew him
Seemed friendly enough
nice smile, he wore
When I last saw him?
Oh, I dunno. Few days ago
He was walkin’ toward the river
come to think of it
Friends. Yeah, one girlfriend
though haven’t seen her lately…
Not much for sports, I don’t think
Kept pretty much to himself, you know
That’s about all I can think of
I’ll be gettin’ along now…
I awoke from a dream --
well, let me start again:
My thought was that I had
awakened. Yet, I rose quite
mistily -- with ghastly figures
hanging in the air, moving
to and fro, in possessed manner.
Swat at them, I could not. My
arms would not lift, my hands
seeming porcelain objects. Residue
stillness, long after the model
had expired, and the artist had eaten
his last moistened bread meal.
The volume of Poe, lie open
on the bedstead, where it had been
wearily placed, just before my
dozing. Strange, the last page read had
been altered...and the name highlighted
for death, was now my own. Could
this deranged volume and I have
mysteriously, mystically changed
realities? My name began
to burn, uplift from the page, the savage
apparitions swarming to tear hungrily at the
fleeing image. My soul drowning in drool.
Fighting falsehood with mere truth is
a losing proposition
The public clamors for the popular position
The underdog has it all his way today
yelling that America is evil paves the way
no matter that it’s pure, unadulterated fiction
Soon all law-abiding folks will be imprisoned
as anarchy realizes its wildest ambitions
when the eyes that are the sky start to open and cry the thunder, and clouds comfort me like a cozy lullaby
I love the thunder the screams of nature from the pain of nature.
I love the thunder it holds me close although sometimes I shake in fear from the howling
I'm surprised yet not hurt scared but not seen
Even though I am scared and quite shaken the love for thunder will never weaken
I'm surprised yet scared of you when you yell and cry, but I've never thought that it could be cause from something in your eye
Scarecrows stand afield
their torsos crafted of straw
but they don’t scare crows
Last night silence spoke,
with fear and with dread,
a language whispered
only in the dark,
spoken by shadows,
heard mainly by kids.
Few adults could hear
what light would not bear
but darkness conveyed—
that language of fear
spoken in silence.
But who taught us
how to speak and hear?
What spirits cannot spit,
yet phantoms cry out,
to our trembling ears.
The night holds its breath,
its secrets confined,
trees bend to listen,
their shadows arise,
to echo the hush.
Fears stagger and fall,
as silence takes shape,
a face without form,
a voice without sound,
that silence still dread.
The sleep demon
Comes by in the evening
When you should be dreaming
So why are you screaming?
You drift off to sleep
You start to feel weak
But then you can’t speak
Not even a squeak
A shadow appears
It wakes up your fears
It’s a fear that you recognize
It leaves your body paralyzed
No you can’t scream
you’re dead silent
You feel the weight
Of an invisible giant
It grabs you by the soul
Don’t let it take you whole
You’ve gotta fight it back
Before it fades to black
Because the sleep demon
Comes by in the evening
When you should be dreaming
So why are you screaming?
Hare trapped in a bubble,
Too pained by the capture;
Yet chews its last supper.
Even joy precedes pains—
stop your stare,
dare to help.
Though I err,
spare some love,
wipe my tear.
Short sharp shocks.
8 / 26 / 2025.
Gleaming diamonds that dot the skies
Peering through the night with trillions of eyes
Behind crescent smiles, you wink a distant threat
Oh, faceless gaze, how I wonder what you're looking at
You come with shrouds that cloak our sun
As hellfire burn behind the black you've spun
You weave the constellations like gossamer webs
While in wide-eyed wonder, we meander into your nets
Travelers crossing the night have leaned on you so
For your twinkling fingers point which way to go
But as your blinking orbs appraise their every move
You chart our world—every corner, every groove
Trillions of eyes cut across the darkness deep
Tendrils of light rain upon us while we sleep
While crescent grimace whisper into our dreams
Oh, twinkle, twinkle, draw us closer into your seams
A broken Branch beneath, laid in lies then repeats.
Skipped on lakes of tears deepened by defeat.
A broken Branch beneath, connection and silence,
between resigned or violence,
between being conscious... or dying.
Footprint stalking all this way, following.
Enough water to drown,
enough water to cover-up,
enough water if all alone in the middle with you in it.
Stare until no bubbles, bubble up.
Take the body up and out the tub.
Excitement built up,
riding the hot air balloon
with my two daughters.
Turned to fear for falling fast,
bounced on the ground, and then dragged.
The frightening ride
happened in New Mexico
sixteen years ago,
did not dampen my spirit
for riding another one.
Felt no excitement
nervous from the prior ride,
calmly went for it.
Magic moment in the sky,
view of sunrise and balloons.
Tossing and turning all night
recently had the strangest dreams
recalling them in broad daylight
don’t know what they mean
wrecked by a stacked deck
of bottom-dealt cards
I was under the gun
attacked by a pack of hungry wolves
had me on the run
lost in the woods and couldn't see
the forest for all the trees
mocked by a flock of tar-black crows
had me on my knees
and tho' the Gods may be crazy
staring out from on high
they do look after their own it's true
for drunkards children and fools such as I
TRIP
upstate
years ago
boating memory
balancing on a wave
crossing Lake Superior
“nearly capsized that frightful day”
Specific Types of Scary Poems
Definition | What is Scary in Poetry?
Poems Related to Scary
hairy, eerie, spooky, intimidating, creepy, alarming, shocking, chilling, hair raising, bloodcurdling, horrendous, horrifying, spine chilling, unnerving,