(A/N: Inspired by the Sirius Black character and the "Grim" of the Harry Potter books and films.)
Howls echo, tones rising and falling on the wind,
gusting through trees struggling to grow
in the dank, organic soil of summer.
An abandoned footpath leads toward an old burial ground
concealed by overgrowth and rotting leaves.
Sirius shines bright and hot in the night sky.
A basilisk egg, left to incubate under the warmth of the Dog Star,
lies nestled amongst forgotten graves,
names and dates obliterated by mosses and lichens
whose subtle colours creep across the stones, claiming them.
Stealthy footsteps quiet insects' buzz.
Owl heads swivel, ears tuning in.
A dark shape pads up the path, silent as death,
huge eyes blazing as it sniffs the air, testing the night scents.
Its stare fixes upon Sirius burning above,
shimmering and growing hotter as if in answer.
Suddenly, a laser beam of starlight pierces the shape,
illuminating and bringing into focus a dog, inky black; unmoving.
A loud cry penetrates the wooded silence
as the huge shape becomes more nebulous:
tail, legs, body and head slowly fading and then vanishing,
leaving behind - just for a moment -
the gleam of white fangs against the darkness,
a Cheshire cat smile. . .
and then the Grim is gone.
Author notes
Sirius is the brightest star in the August sky and is also known as the Dog Star. This is the origin of the saying, "Dog Days of Summer". The legendary Grim, which takes the form of a large black dog, is said to haunt old graveyards in Britain. (This selection is from my dark poetry collection, "Tales From the Forbidden Forest".)
In a list
Your comments on "Sirius Rising" are welcome!
Comments
1 - 24 of 24
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This is a truly incredible piece I love it!!!
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Re: Sirius Rising
Thanks, Princess. Are you a Harry Potter fan? I think I put in my notes that the poem was inspired by Sirius Black :-)
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Poet
And when the stars are aligned and the 12th planest re-enters our system shall we then know the true meaning of life and the spirit?
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Re: Sirius Rising
Ah, yes . . . to at last know the meaning of life and the spirit. Can any poem do that, I wonder?? :-)
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Wow Wonderful!
Hi there tis me ...Sristan now here Mrimroux I checked out this site and Your Dark poetry in the Forbidden Forest .... All I can say is Bravo again, you nailed the myth,folklore and Harry Potter storyline in rich tones of your very own. I shall enjoy reading the rest of the selections in this series of poems.Thank you for sharing you talent. Thank you for mentioning this site! Cheers Mrimroux -
I like your focus on the stars and the creatures descriptions.
Not really my thing so I didnt get to into it.
I imagine a person interested in this would be awed though
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The stars are a fascinating and wonderful topic to write about and I always enjoy reading about them. The description in this piece brings the tale alive. My favourite part is
Suddenly, a laser beam of starlight pierces the shape,
illuminating and bringing into focus a dog, inky black; unmoving.
A loud cry penetrates the wooded silence
as the huge shape becomes more nebulous: -
I have no idea if you're a Harry Potter fan or not, but this beautifully compliments the third in the series... Now, onto the poem. Great subject matter. Your flow and vocabulary are excellent, and made this a joy to read. Great job
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Wonderful write. I like how you used the stars and grim for the basis for this poem. It was well done an I really enjoyed it. Thank your for sharing this with us it was a pleasurable read
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I love it!
I love poems on the stars and constellations-this is one of the better ones that I've read. Lovely theme, including the ghost.
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Amazingly written, gorgeously put together, the visiual scenes that danced through my head with this lovely piece were spectacular! Well done!
The imagery is Fantastic!!! -
I like how descriptive this is without it being flowery. Its just plain descriptive and straitforward, It gave me chills thinking about it for a bit. your work really shows us instead of telling us the scene. And the title worked really well, is this personification of a day when the Dog Star is up in the sky?
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This is a very good write. You presented your thoughts quite well here. There is a lot of emotion behind your words. I was hooked till the very last line.
Well done Poet.
Keep up the good writing. -
epic!
Ah, the images! the wording! the loose formatting of lines! Beautiful!
I even like the ironic contrast ofyour background
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Love it
I love this too! Two out of two so far... unusual. Wonderfully relaxed style, highly observant and descriptive... you paint a fascinating picture with your words and lead the reader on, a willing participant of your imagery. Just lovely.
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You have a gift for fantasy. This is a great piece of work worthy of a gold star. Happy trails neighbor
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Stealthy footsteps quiet insects' buzz; owl heads swivel, ears tuning in.
A dark shape pads up the path, silent as death,
huge eyes blazing as it sniffs the air, testing the night scents.
Its stare fixes upon Sirius burning above,
shimmering and growing hotter as if in answer.
That was by far my favorite stanza
Your imagery is FLAWLESS.
Beautiful write, outstanding poem. ~ Kerri -
This is entirely enthraling! As I read this, I found myself spellbound. Your word use and imagry captivated me throughout the poem. I swear I could almost see the night sky shining with the Dog Star above me and It's only 1:50 PM here. When the black dog formed before me, I was so lost in its image that I could not react. This amazing!
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my favorite part
Suddenly, a laser beam of starlight pierces the shape,
illuminating and bringing into focus a dog, inky black; unmoving.
A loud cry penetrates the wooded silence
as the huge shape becomes more nebulous:
tail, legs, body and head slowly fading and then vanishing,
leaving behind - just for a moment -
the gleam of white fangs against the darkness,
a Cheshire cat smile. . .
and then the Grim is gone.
Cheshire cat smile from alice in wonder land isnt it
This is a very nice poem I loved reading it I love looking at the stars too
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This was a very interesting piece. It read very well. The flow here was also good. I liked the lines
"Sirius shines bright and hot in the night sky.
A basilisk egg, left to incubate under the warmth of the Dog Star,
lies nestled amongst forgotten graves,"
Well done. Keep up the good work.
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The infusion of imagery and emotion flowing across the page here makes for a very powerful piece of poetry. Thank you for sharing and best wishes to you. Keep that pen handy dear poet. ~Midnight Lace
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This is such a brilliant write and so full of wonderful imagery. You have taken the reader on a journey through this and have done it so very well.
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oooooooooooohhhhhhhhh....now this this is poetry...I'm really big on astrology and finally a poem on some stars!!! This was a really nice long piece and I love the imagery and flow
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Very well constructed and put together. I like how it holds the form of telling a story, it really brings the imagery to life. Great work and thanks for sharing.
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