A Coastal Myth

The clarinet waves touched the moon.  

He walked like a rooster in the moonlight, 

bewitched by the music and the light. The 

caparisoned elephants swayed their heads 

to the drumbeats. A dozen half-naked virgins

danced around a bronze devil. “Human smell!” 

Everything vanished in the blackout. That 

escaped fisherman appeased the dark deity… 


With a wavering voice and goose-bumps, 

my wizened neighbor recounts thus the 

myth behind the coastal festival. I enjoy 

the false beauty. There is no analyzer in 

his thinking system. Superstition is highly 

inflammable in his illiterate inland. Such 

beliefs flourish here in the thick Fantasy 

Forest, where the reason rays never fall.

First published in The Literary Hatchet
Copyright © | Year Posted 2021

Poem

Post Comments

Poetrysoup is an environment of encouragement and growth so only provide specific positive comments that indicate what you appreciate about the poem. Negative comments will result your account being banned.

Please Login to post a comment

Be the first to comment on this poem. Encourage this poet.

Get a Premium Membership
Turn off ads, get more exposure for your poetry, and get more features with a Premium Membership.
Book: Diverse Voices: The Poetry of Human Rights and the Pursuit of Peace