Many say their grandpa is Santa, but they are lying
Linda Lou realized her grandpa was Santa as he lay dying
I always thought this, she told him, what can I do?
Just pass the baton to the head elf, please Linda Lou.
The second the baton was placed in the elf’s capable hands
He transmogrified into Santa Claus and began traveling to outer lands
I need to memorize the geography during the day time he said
For at night, it is awfully dark after the children go to bed.
My heart is empty
But my mind is full
So I have all these thoughts
But no feelings attached
My ears hear thoughtfully
But my tongue tastes tepidly
And the person I was 10 years ago
Well, he no longer exists
I feel like a manic mannequin
Masquerading as a man
Once vibrant eyes have gone dark
And I'm closer to death than birth
I write these words in my head
But they're written by foreign fingers
Lacking the deftness
That they used to have
Everyone thinks you die once
But after all I've been through
I think you die a thousand painful deaths
Before the Grim Reaper comes calling
The vibrancy of the mind fades
An aging body breaks down and decays
Hope transmogrified into one day at a time
But it just doesn't get any better
I feel like a software update went wrong
And erased the operating system
Like when Windows replaced XP with Vista
But it was never quite the same
My heart is empty
But my mind is full
But my feelings are attached here
To fill my empty heart
the metropolitan library has a legacy of hosting unknown entities
reputed to be severely haunted since the early eighteen twenties
is it Goth? Celtic? what is her story I asked my eager brother
He wanted to go there on Hallows Eve, but did not invite our mother
Ghouls, goblins, ghosts and gremlins have been seen there
There might be vampires or cricket bats lingering in the air
a witch or two might be stirring a cauldron bright
we don’t know what to expect on this rare night
I thought it odd he did not mention book or a story
But decided to go because I am my brother’s sister, Glory
around the corner I saw an open book with sitting creature
she gave me the evil eye, with a gruesome face, an evil creature
it is a baby bat, my brother said, no reason to worry
But then we heard scratching and scratching, and something scurry
the bat transmogrified into a vampire with evil intent
spilled the cup of tea, and proved he was not heaven-sent
We ran out screaming, my brother and I
I yelled really loud “I thought I’d die!”
Then I noticed my brother had not made it out
I could hear him screaming as he was thrown about.
spooky girls three went everywhere together
in rain, sleet or snow, any kind of Midwest weather
they were named Hortense, Helena and Holly Heather
Sisters? We were unsure, said my brother, Merriweather.
Almost acting as if cojoined, these three were rather creepy,
If one cried, the other two wailed and got unbelievably weepy.
They liked October, it seemed to be their favorite month of all.
I always got frightened when they appeared in the fall.
They transmogrified out of mushrooms or tree stumps or moss.
Appearing before our eyes, it was weird, said my cousin Hoss.
spooky girls three sometimes put spells on us too.
This is how they banished our friend Linda Sue Lou.
Santa always wanted to be an elf
He made a wish one day, against a shelf
The clock above got a little mixed up
He changed Santa into a dachshund pup
Santa went barking around and scared some kids
the clock transmogrified him into a gnome, named Lids
Lids sat in the woods and counted mushrooms that were whole
In the meantime, there was turmoil at the North Pole
Where was Santa? Who would drive the red sleigh?
Would he return home before Christmas day?
Mrs. Claus got out her Bible and began to frantically pray.
The clock rolled his eyes at the kerfuffle heading his way.
the vampire queen was on the hunt at the vampire ball
vultures, beasts and demons came to her as if by a call
she transmogrified devils into trolls with one flick
this queen was cagey, incredibly sneaky and slick
in the vampire king’s manor, the ballroom was dimly lit,
gnomes were as at home here as claws and hoofs that fit.
there is a hunger that must be satisfied, this is for sure.
the vampire queen advanced quickly, her motives impure.
hidden in the dark, dank, dismal shadows was the vampire king.
watching the queen with all of his might, her neck quite the thing.
the dance began slowly, as he advanced from her left without genuflect.
She turned and gave him that come-hither look and let him see her neck.
the person she was at eight a.m. did not recognize her three p.m. self
She had thrown away two or three “I will never's" that day
transmogrifying herself into a willing flexible chameleon
no one else noticed, which amused her slightly but lightly
Part of herself wanted to scream her new truth, but she was shy
Her muse took the helm and wrote about it, but who read it? No one.
Notice me! She was screaming silently from the inside
Self-absorbed, no one offered her time or attention.
Wait! Hope walked into the room, in the form of her old boyfriend, Roy.
He caught her eye, and then her hand. She felt like a fly trapped.
You are more beautiful than ever! He told her. His smile was crooked.
He looked delighted with her; she knew it was the alcohol speaking.
She had completely transmogrified herself since he left her.
Did not bother to share her changes though, he was clearly not interested.
She searched his face, wondering who he was seeing.
the person she was a few minutes ago, barely recognized herself.
Wizened old lady read the leaves
two taunted her, a gentle tease
she heard a cough and a wheeze
leaves transmogrified with a sneeze
door slammed shut by a hardy breeze
what do they say? asked young Louise
You’ll have a good life she said with ease.
Old hag who raised bullfrogs and bees.
There was a plethora of magical cats in Marla’s magic hat.
She concealed two of them from the regular populace.
The naysayers, doubters, and the ones on the fence.
Knowing they could not handle Turquoise who was outrageous.
Turquoise is a tabby who materialized or rather transmogrified.
Appearing on a Saturday six years ago in June. She watched him do it.
Not only does he speak English, he speaks sailor, his words are blue.
Luckily, he is not fond of children, and hides when they are afoot.
Turquoise has a mini cat named Goofball who sits on his purple hat.
Goofball does not speak to Marla directly; Turquoise interprets.
Sometimes she wonders if he is making the gobbly gook up.
Turquoise acts as her muse, enticing her to do outrageous things.
Thanks to his influence, she has six tattoos, and her hair is two-toned.
She wears vintage steampunk clothes, and she takes no guff off anyone.
Marla was shy and dull before Turquoise arrived in her apartment.
She is outrageously outgoing now, grateful to him for her new journey.
Curly haired Carlotta brought her curls onto our bus
Filling it up from seat to seat, annoying many of us.
Her hair grew an inch every fifteen minutes you see.
We could barely speak to each other for it was not wee.
These curls went down the aisle and into the seats.
Two guys sitting on some of it were known as the Petes.
We cannot cut it, they told us, for we did that another time.
Those curls transmogrified into thugs and held us hostage until almost nine.
Widow witch’s olive elixir all in
mystical bam for scaly itchy old skin
therapeutic in a Halloween way
best skin remedy of all back in the day
widow took out cauldron and gave a chant
wizard brother transmogrified into a teeny ant
other animals disappeared from view
I would not have stayed around, would have you?
I live in every man's struggles.
I lose myself in the crowd;
Everyone has a story of loss,
Of a childhood that ended abruptly,
Transmogrified into juvenile gods,
Worshipping, genuflecting, reacting,
Pale with the anguish of bent backs.
And every man lives in me,
As I in him, today and yesterday;
Ancestors and inheritors, possessors,
Crossing oceans, discovering realms,
Absorbing losses, sensing kinship
In the spurting blood of the enemy,
Enemy men, who say goodbye forever
To the children and mothers left behind.
I see myself in every man, even the enemy;
In the war cry, the final guttural effort
To resist the pale-faced smallpox carrier.
Darkness corrupted my soul
But light only burned my flesh
A steady stairway to heaven
Transmogrified into the highway to hell
I'm not even sure I'm okay
I'm still north of Hell
But deep south from Heaven
My words squirm like mice
Confronting a King Cobra
Starting to dance like a jester
Maybe I always was a clown
For believing in life, liberty,
And the pursuit of happiness
Like, I still strive to be whimsical
Caked in the batter of despair
Just put me in the oven
But there's humor in the sadness
There's laughter in the tears
There's anger in the joy
And rage in the peace
Shatter the mirror to pieces
Reflecting my face on each shard
It's impossible to find the real me
But perhaps they're all real
And I'm faking their fictionality
So in the end I'm still just a phony
Selling the words I say
Instead of the words I mean
But sometimes the heart feels
That which words cannot articulate
So I might drown in the darkness
But I'll only fry in the light
So I'll take a mallet and bash the walls
Just to watch them all fall
And I'll forge my own path
Somewhere between light and dark
That is where the meaning of man
Will surely be found
ebony crow gave a twirl and his face turned green
he transmogrified into the witch’s scariest queen
this was a surprise, even though it was Halloween
I did not dare tell even my closest friends what I had seen.
The witch crow gave me a snort, her nose was lean
Beak-like and terrifying, I tried to let out a scream.
My flatulence was proof I had had one too many beans,
Waking me up from my horrifying nightmare dream.
he was raised by trees
a fur king in Germany's black forest
few met him, as he seldom transmogrified
posing as a harmless sapling by day
howling rage by night
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