Gargoyles watching from rooftop corners
Casting an evil eye on every miscreant.
Guarding the premises with contempt.
Wordku: 5-7-5 words
AP: Honorable Mention 2026
carved jack-o-lanterns
a sentinel of pumpkins
vegetable gargoyles
an ebony cat
a marble gravestone scratchpad
feline familiar
wolves howl at the moon
bat wings whisper in the dark
creatures of the night
monsters in costume
banging on neighborhood doors
shouts of trick-or-treat
Halloween conjures the dead,
fueling feelings of dread.
The gargoyles sit on the fence
blinking like sheep, all in a row
where’s the romance in that?
humor me, please, before it’s too late.
I’d like to see you
sharpen your teeth
and hiss some outstanding
poetry,
grow some fangs,
flap your wings at the crows
I know it’s all
laughable limerence
the slap and tickle limerick
between you and me,
I’ll gift you this, though, generously,
you make me smile
and laugh uproariously,
at this, from my lips to yours
the words,
"I do" -
agree
Candide Diderot. ‘24
flaking paint
on peeling buildings
throws
clock fingers
through the last plumes of yesterday
Argus stained waiters
Gargoyles chewing on cigars
Smile till swede
Worshiping the harlequins
Sailors with denim eyes
velvet dolls with braided smiles
worshiping the dreams of night
and the Serpentine dulls grey, disowned
red-carpet sunset
takes evening by her cold hand —
crows adorn the eaves
oscillating back and forth
head tilting from leeward and windward
an abstract puzzling my imperial gaze
a Van Gogh in waiting
perchance a reflection illuminated
in broad mesmerizing strokes
some tantalizing insightfulness
else a superficial escapade
do the color menageries
stray my mindfulness or hold attention
each vivid hue enlightenment
to soothe & provide enrichment
is my inspiration desperation
to find meaning in the simpleton
gravitating and oscillating
between beauty and gargoyles
does incredulous creativity scare me
or woo me into submissiveness
the artist plying servitude
into mine cavernous cavities
Alan Scales’ exhibit of
Turquoise Abstract Landscape II
provides fodder for my mind
to exponentially explode
Andreas Simic©
You heard about the son of God
Here's a story about the Devil's lot
He spawned three males too
Dont judge before you hear the truth
These lads were innocent as a new born
So Lucifer was not happy with his spawn
He called them gargoyles and banished them from hell
I found them sat by the wishing well
They all looked cold and scared to death
So i took them home and nursed them to health
They were funny looking creatures with wings
Short, plump with horns, cute and scary looking
The first was named Friluce, he was blind
The second was a deaf little swine
Goes by the name of Reficul, a funny little one
The third poor little devil Ecrulif was speachless dumb
They dedicated their life to protecting my famiy
From evil forces we cannot see
Witch made old Lucifer more crazy
To see his spawn as innocent and free
So thats the story of the devil's three lads
See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil conquers the bad
Zebras. Monkeys. Lions too.
Decorating every corner.
Gorgeously done.
Not the approved way,
But a gloriously new classroom
With a fresh teacher with crazy ideals intact.
She was a bit too cheerful.
Too open. Too friendly. Maybe a small-town girl.
Not institutionalized at all, not used to our ways.
What is she thinking? We whispered
Behind her back, and in front of her face.
She was a unicorn in a world of gargoyles.
We poked fun of her with our cracked cement faces.
She obviously knows not what she is about, we said.
The students will tear up that classmate in seconds, showing their colors.
Browns and grays ourselves, we never got around to showing her,
for children saw her for her pinks, oranges and greens.
The test scores came out in July.
Zebra, Monkey, Lion, Unicorn odd-ball’s class
Had the highest test scores in the state.
She was promoted to coach, to teach the others how to show kind colors.
Many of the whisperers left, not wanting to be taught.
I decided to stay and apologize.
The next year my classroom is filled to the brim
with gorillas, tigers, unicorns, hope, kindness and colors.
She is teaching me her magic ways.
Grotesque monsters immortalized in stone
Are perched on top of ancient architectural
Churches with a rumor attached about them
Being marsupial, taking to flight, and having
To materialize back in their places before
Sunrise so they don't fossilize.
These horrible creatures protect buildings as
Water spouts to keep the wall clear along
With frightening away evil spirits to which
The Cardinals say are functional.
Can you visualize their disguise?
These monsters and creatures are known as
Gargoyles who are mythical, mystical, magical,
And historical.
These mythological unusual creations aren't
At all conventional yet, they are phenomenal.
Laugh out loud they've left night time for day
Time afternoon with their own cartoon and
Video game chain
Which makes them a conversational
Piece with real names and fame with which
My children they entertain.
This was a massive campaign.
Thanks to Disneyland
Gargoyles are no longer disdained or plain.
Now they have their own merchandise on
Sale, on demand under their own name brand
So before it's all gone check out their stand
It's fully manned. Believe it or not they got
The upper hand.
This land is my land
Happy place in this book of sorrows
Where gargoyles gather
Yesterday, today and tomorrow
And never have to prepare faces
To meet the faces they meet
Mostly because as faces go, we have none
Ask Eliot, we have been called inebriate
Full of new wine, but there is more
I always say there is always more
The analysis is wrong of course
And only those in the know would know
Like I said, Lord, we are here
A gathering of voices, not disembodied
But disregarded, the sight of us vurulent
The sight of us appals a few. Turbulence
The needles in their misery meters
Rush to the easiest conclusions
Masses of contusion will cause confusion
Before they know me they judge me
And then they downplay their judgement
But why should I complain and sound plaintive
In the words of Lord Faarquar
It's rude enough being in the space we share
One night, I stumbled impetuously in what seems like a market
Where gargoyles and gangrenes were sold in secret and hidden places
I watched the seller closely and a gelded man! I saw signs of
Pity, I felt for him until he started hinting at shooting cupid's arrow at me
What an irony! I said to myself until I found out that I was lost in the market of gargoyles and gelded men!!!
The bats fly away in the deep of the night
And the ravens aren’t that far behind
These creatures filter and are thusly aligned
The black cats skirt around the coffins alright
The ones which contain the skeletons
Where the night surely goes and beckons
Jack-O-Lanterns bring about a lot of fright
Their frightening faces will scare anyone
With the eerie light deep inside that’s molten
The cemetery is the zombie’s great delight
Where they eat to their fill from the graves
The gravestones all have their names engraved
There are witches that fly about in the firelight
Casting curses to all that dare to walk about
Scaring all those fearful below without a doubt
All these creatures wander about this midnight
Under a full moon, the gargoyles keep watch
And life within Halloween kicks it up a notch
The bats fly away in the deep of the night
The black cats skirt around the coffins alright
Jack-O-Lanterns bring about a lot of fright
The cemetery is the zombie’s great delight
There are witches that fly about in the firelight
All these creatures wander about the midnight
Russell Sivey
Form Constanza
Gargoyles guard
The evil haunted house
Where ghosts live
Skeletons reside within
The caskets outside the house
The dark corners
Contain the deadly warlocks
And witches that fly
In the full moon
The bloody landscape contains
Jack-O-Lanterns
Candles light up the area
Around the dug up grave
Where zombies walk
Within the old graveyard
All evil roams tonight
Russell Sivey
Gargoyles
Water Spitters
Seething, Guarding, Vexing
Warding Off Near Evil Spirits
Legends
Gargoyles
By Jeff Weiner
Gargoyles perched upon the ledge
Watching the city by day,
Flying as protectors at night
Seen in motion by few they say,
If you are chosen as one
The story goes not well,
Its said that only the evil
See their fate just before they dwell,
Some believe they are heros to the good
While others preach they are devils with wings,
I believe that they are Gods on earth
With the myth and faith each brings,
The next time you look up
And see this creature in the sky,
As it decends down upon you
There is no need to ask why,
This city will now be safe at night
Protected by my friends, The Gargoyles
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