Fortuitous Friday! Thirteenth of July!
The moon is an opal that gleams in the sky.
Enchanters and witches and warlocks ally,
A coven convenes in the blink of an eye.
The mages start marking their mystical runes.
The crickets are chanting their crotchety tunes
The bullfrogs are bellowing, bloated bassoons.
A crowing cacophony! Chaos communes!
Consulting the tarot cards, seeking a sign
A cleverer conjurer tries to divine
If luck or misfortune are in the design
perhaps they will both play a part, intertwine...
Consulting the symbols, attempting to see,
The wizened old wizard starts cackling with glee
"The spirits say none are more lucky than we,
Proceed with the rite, we are safe! Blessed be!"
Surrounding the cauldron, the mages proclaim
Tonight is the night they will finally tame
The demons that cannot be mentioned by name!
A pentacle flares on an altar of flame.
The seven enchanters join hands in a bond
One starts incantations, his brothers respond.
Then lighting the candles and waving a wand
The spellcaster summons the spirits beyond.
"We call to thee, spirits, to aid what we do
A rabbit's foot, clover, a spider, horseshoe,
A dream catcher, black cat, a penny or two,
Some salt and a snake and a bat in the brew."
A chalice is filled and the brothers partake.
They spill the remains in the hopes they will slake
the thirst of the demons, who never will break
the spell, if they only accept and awake.
The altar flares higher with ghastly green light,
A ladder of flames of incredible height.
The demons ascend, burning blindingly bright
Imprinting their souls on the darkness of night.
The wizards and witches rejoice in their feat.
The demons laugh wickedly; it's all a cheat.
They curse their new lords, who, consumed by the heat,
Burn brightly themselves, in their ashen defeat!
The flames are extinguished before the next dawn.
The gravedigger comes and the spirits are gone.
But never forget, though the shades are withdrawn,
The myth and the magic will always live on!
Author notes
I chose to use all the words from options #4 and #5.
##4 Witches Wordbank: (must use all 13 words)
Altar
Black cat(s)
Chant
Candles
Demons
Blessed Be
Spell(s)
Tarot Cards
Runes
Cauldron
Pentacle/Pentagram
Wand
Chalice
##5 The Devil's Dozen Wordbank:
(must use atleast 13 words)
Bats
Spider
Ladder
Luck (good or bad)
Moon
Clover
Crow
Dream Catcher
Break
Curse(d)
Opal
Salt
Clever
Sign
Symbol
Misfortune
Spill
Gravedigger
Flame
Friday
13
Cricket(s)
Horseshoe
Rabbits Foot
Penny
7
"The Writings On The Wall" - per instructions.
In a list
A contest entry
- The Devil's Dozen by Saree Wynter.
500 points, ended July 14, 2007, 6 entries
Gold trophy winner
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Please tell me what you think
Comments
1 - 25 of 25
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Astounding!
I can see very clearly that you are perfect for teaching a class involving sound. This poem was pure music and the rhyming didn't lose the meaning at all. I can see that there is much I can learn from you and hope to absorb at least a quarter of your sheer brilliance.
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Fantastic!
I absolutely loved this poem. This is the first poem of yours that I've read; I just started one of the classes recently, and don't really know a lot of formal wordings for the art of poetry or types, I just know what feels fantastic and sounds good - and yours surely does. Your fun play with words, and creative "spirit" (haha) were music to me, and I really enjoyed reading it. I only just learned what "alliteration" means and wow! You reallly managed a lot of it, in a addition to being non-boring and colorful, plus obeying all the rules and using the right words to win the contest. Even though I have been putting up a few poems for awhile on Allpoetry, I have only recently made a firm and serious determination to learn all I can about poetry so that I can grow in my writing and skills in poetry, and you sir are a shining example to me and if I could learn to write as well as you I would be supremely pleased with myself. Thank you for sharing your delightful writing with the world!
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Fantastic!
Absolutely magical!
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spellbindingly good
and very cleverly written
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You are my friend
This verse inspires me (Tiki)
"We call to thee, spirits, to aid what we do
A rabbit's foot, clover, a spider, horseshoe,
A dream catcher, black cat, a penny or two,
Some salt and a snake and a bat in the brew."
I need these for my Cat Food.
Thank you for the ideas, Dude.
(except for the "black cat")
Tiki Cat
Buy my Tiki's Gourmet Cat Food
"Too Good For Humans"
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this was so awesome! the rhythm and beat of it was like joey jordison playing drums and the imagery was incredible. if this had choruses to breaj the 4 line stanzas this would be a killer song
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Wonderful!
Lol! I had a lot of fun reading this. I like how it is written as a tale. Wonderful choice (and execution) of meter for the subject matter. You incorporated the word bank words so seemlessly that I never would have known you had done so, had you not said so in your AN.
I plan to mark this for further study of meter and poetic devices (I especially like the alliteration in Stanza 2 and the enjabment of Stanza 8).
An excellent write.
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Well, it's no wonder you are an instructor! Well done!
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ooh...I love this and the background went so well with it!!
---Thousand Petals
Merry Christmas!! -
Wow! I must say, you have some very well articulated words here! Your mastery of poetry is awe-inspiring. I noticed Alliterations, Metaphors, Imagery...ALL OF IT! And your rhyme scheme is matched by few that I know
. Very nicely done! And it seems you have a good knowledge of the craft that played an important role in the creation of this work. A well deserved Trophy. 
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A poetical tale ...
that's rife with imagery and reads beautifully because of your great use of meter! Your trophy was well earned and I am glad that you linked this for #7. jy
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Excellent
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Aha, a contest with given words! Any more of those around? Got to admire those four-line rhymes, none of them forced.
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Just watch for contests that use the phrase "word bank." They're pretty common. And, of course, you can always host your own.
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Wow! I love this to bits! I've sneaked in here after just starting one of your classes, and now I'm feeling a bit over awed and nervous.
I love the lines:
'Some salt and a snake and a bat in the brew' with it's feeling of hum drum cookery juxtaposing with magic.
Also:
'The gravedigger comes and the spirits are gone'
A superb foil for the ghostly capers that run before.
My favourite bit has to be describing the moon as an opal, it's one of those perfect descriptions that leave us all thinking 'Now why didn't I think of that?'
Lovely! I fear I might run out of your classroom with fright now!
Lianonsidhe
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Wow!
This is just so very good. I love rhyme and the flow of this poem is fabulous. sigh...I have SO much to learn... minor dabbler that I am. ***Pam***
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Loved it!
Not really a one for writing to form but this is inspirational. A really enjoyable incantation.
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Wonderful!I can see the rhythm the meter makes and why it would be fit for this kind of write.Perfect rhyming and imagery.Very well desrving of the gold
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As I was reading it seemed a little protracted but then I saw the vast word bank you had used¡! I find that quite difficult – I always want to use some alternative synonym, I think it stems from a lifetime of rebelling against authority… Any hoots very good construct – glad to see you took the gold¡!
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Wow, I wish I had written this! Such imagery and what a fantastic rhthym.Well deserved trophy.
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Outstanding
You manage to link humour with a vivid picture of wizards and witches with their cauldrons and the spirit world. I liked how you play with language in such a creative way. I liked the tongue in cheek feel and the flow of this poem. Impressive.
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Excellent poem. This is really good. Especially for using all the words without it sounding corny. Best of luck.
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Thank you for the inspiration and the trophy! It's always fun to try and use all the words in a natural-sounding way.
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Very good poetry written.It seems more fitted to All Hallows Eve.But a great piece none the less. Watch out for Loki and his cohort with the tainted arrows.Always better safe than sorry.
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Oh, Bravo!
I've never read such an amazing piece! Your imagery, vocabulary, rhyming scheme, and rhythm is truly admirable! You are an instant favorite of mine.
Blessed Be, and well penned, my friend.
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