The Terror

He never came out in the daytime, though

He’d always come out at night,

I’d hear his feet, pass in the street

By the gaslamp’s feeble light,

He’d peer through the frosted window glass

And I swear that he always hissed,

Whenever I opened the trap, he’d gone

A-swirl in the yellow mist.

 

We huddled under the chimney piece,

We huddled under the stair,

Whenever his steps were echoing

From here to the you-know-where,

I tried to protect my Carolyn

Who would shut her eyes and ears,

He had the power, for over an hour

To bring Carolyn to tears.

 

He’d come when the frost brought icicles

He’d come when the wind would blow,

He’d come when I left her tricycle

Outside, and covered in snow,

And then when the ice on the window ledge

Began to go crack-crack-crack,

She often hid, right under the lid

Where the firewood lay in a stack.

 

And then when the door blew open, from

A gust in the wind out there,

We’d lie, with fears unspoken

As the creaking rose up the stair,

Then Carolyn shrieked, while I couldn’t speak

For hearing her cries and moans,

As terror spread, from under the bed

And chattered through teeth and bones.

 

I swore that he wore a big black hat

With a brim that covered his eyes,

Carolyn wrote that he wore a cloak

As part of his dread disguise,

But nobody would believe us, ‘til

We heard he was coming back,

His hobnailed boots on the cobblestones

Approached, a-click and a-clack.

 

They’d slow, and stop by the outer door

Our hearts in our mouths, alas,

And then his shadow would fall right there

He’d peer through the frosted glass,

The knocker had an echoing sound

As he knocked, went rat-tat-tat,

And mother leapt to the door in a bound,

‘Dear God! It’s Uncle Jack!’

 

David Lewis Paget

Author's Note

This is my 1,000th Poem, since I began to write poetry in 1966. So 1,000 poems has taken me 48 years.

Reviews

[Barbz]

I am loving his poetry......Depth and simplicity all rolled into one......my grandchildren , likewise , appreciated his poetry as they sat on my bed last night and asked for "just one more"......don't you love positive feedback from wide-eyed children......'n Hey, what about me!!4q

[Richard Layne]

Congrats sir on the poem and the 1K. i enjoy your easy going style and knack for story telling. Good poetry can be fun too.

[JD Jessop]

Wow! that is an amazing tale. Gives you the real sense of the monster under the bed or in the closet and how childrens imaginations run wild. I think there is an even more sinister tone in the end but thats the great thing about poetry, the reader gets to interpret the meaning 1,000 different ways. Great job!!

1,000 poems too. Very impressive Sir.

[Coyote Poetry]

A very entertaining tale. A 1000 poems. This is many. I'm glad I was introduced to your writing. Your veteran pen and thoughts always take me to a better place and time. Thank you for sharing your wonderful poetry.
Coyote

[Woody]

Gee, what a surprise ending! but frankly I was not expecting any less. I have long gave up trying to outguess you.
congratulations on your 1000th baby!! Now on to your swcond 1000 :)
excellent as always, David. I love this site for having a poet and storyteller like you.

[Leslie Philibert]

As I always write, David is well liked and deserves his good reputation

[Avinash]

This one was quite apt to mark your 1000th poem with a pleasant surprise ending. As they say everything happens at the right time. Like a fine wine few things just get better and better with time like your writing.

[nana]

David as a friend of Tates I often drop by to see how he is doing. I saw the note he had on his bi line for your 1000th poem and thought I would stop over to see what all the fuss was. He chooses his friends wisely and you seem to be very talented. What great care you take in creating this work. Congatulations on your 1000th poem.

[Barbz]

David!!! Was my Uncle Jack in your head also?? Now His teeth are chattering.....of course, they're no longer connected! My goodness, your 1000th.....an accomplishment of epic proportion...and I'm sure we shall hear from you again and A GAIN........(there goes my social life).....

[Sindu]

Congrats Mr. Paget! 48 years huh.. That's real dedication.
Uncle jack knows how to make an appearance, doesn't he! That was incredibly captivating. What a word treat, it is! I can't help but read it a couple of times.

[Seashell]

Wonderfully descriptive piece
I was almost on the edge of my seat
I love all 'tongue in cheek' pieces
Thank you so much for share
Babs :-)