We who with songs beguile your pilgrimage / And swear that Beauty lives though lilies die, / We Poets of the proud old lineage / Who sing to find your hearts, we know not why ... (James Elroy Flecker)

23.4.19

Horror


It's day 23 of April Poems at 'imaginary garden with real toads' and we are asked to write a horror poem. They mean fantasy horror, but ....

Horror

Horror is not a spooky movie
with ghosts, werewolves, 
or giant spiders. No.

Horror is over two hundred people 
bombed to death in Sri Lanka 
and five hundred wounded.
Cold horror is the fact it was planned
by a whole group. Carefully. Thoroughly. 

Horror is thirty-six thousand 
people every night sleeping rough, 
homeless – thirty-six thousand,
just in Western Sydney.

Horror is lovely Dove Lake 
at the foot of Cradle Mountain
(in Tasmania where I grew up)
clear and blue on the surface
but its sediment toxic,
thick with heavy metal.

Must I go on? You know I've only 
just  got started. The world 
is full of horrors. I haven't yet
mentioned child abuse, rape,
domestic violence. I haven't
listed wars, disease, fatal 
car crashes. You have your own 
examples. You don't need me
to tell you about the polar ice-caps.

Horror, tonight, is very personal –
my generous-hearted friend 
dying fast of cancer,
his voice on the phone already
weaker and more slurred
than it was four days ago.
Horror is contemplating
his pain, his vertebrae crumbling.

18 comments:

  1. Dracula, the Wolfman, and a legion of ghosts look like quaint old dears when you take all the things you mentioned into account. I'll take a ghost over evil fanatics any day, and a haunted house over deadly diseases too.

    ReplyDelete
  2. No made-up fantasy horror is more horrifying than what we are witnessing all around us, and globally. Well-said, my friend.

    ReplyDelete
  3. And it is especially sad to have a dear friend being wracked with a horrible disease. I am so sorry.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I was just talking to my Piano Man about this... sort of horror, saying that when I saw a prompt asking for horror stories, the first thing I thought was, The world is on fire. Our world--personal and communal--seems to be screaming...

    My heart goes to all the friends in pain today... <3

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oh yes horror is most certainly synonym to violence, bombing, war, dispute and bloodshed. I am so sorry to hear about your friend :(

    ReplyDelete
  6. Yes. Horror is real life. The homeless, the earth dying, our friends dying in front of us, our relatives dying. No, you did not go playful on this and I am glad. Beautiful job on this - acerbic and horrified.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Definitely that is the real horror!

    ReplyDelete
  8. There is far too much horror in the world, Rosemary.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I am sorry for you and the friend, Rosemary. You will be missing him very much, he will be gone forever. And we don't think very often about those with whom we are not directly connected or make the news, like all those homeless. Nice post, sad news.
    ..

    ReplyDelete
  10. Horror is the agony of knowing its real. So sorry about your friend. It is agonizing to know someone is suffering.

    ReplyDelete
  11. The true horror is that we are conditioned to go on and carry the weight of our collective pain and hurt without even acknowledging it at times. It's so thoughtful of you for talking about the horror-filled world that we live in, in such a crucial tone. The personal horror is heart-wrenching in particular, as it finds the place of individual in an otherwise statistical understanding.

    ReplyDelete
  12. you have written of the horrors so well that each example impacts greatly - from the genocide to the personal, the planet to the human cruelties. And not a preachy piece of prose in sight - well done Rosemary and very well said. Am truly sorry to hear this news of your friend.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Oh Rosemary...I've often wanted to write a poem about the global horrors and personal horrors and how we're failing as a people - glad I didn't- this is it- the perfectly put together poem!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Sorry to be late with this response. Life!

    Rommy’s comment is perfect. No ghost story rivals what we have rendered in the world. It is ghastly, and I see no solution in this nihilistic political climate.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's OK. It;'s hard to keep up with everything during our April marathon. I'm grateful you read and commented at all.

      Delete
  15. You've spelled it out perfectly..on all its awfulness. I'm so sorry about your friend. The world is indeed, a horrible place.

    ReplyDelete

DON'T PANIC IF YOUR COMMENTS DON'T POST IMMEDIATELY. They are awaiting moderation. Please allow for possible time difference; I am in Australia. ALSO, IF YOU ARE FORCED TO COMMENT ANONYMOUSLY – do add your name at the end, so I know it's you!