Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Down in the Graveyard

 
 
Down in the Graveyard
 
by Dawn Pisturino
Illustration by Job van Gelder
 
Down in the graveyard by the old oak tree
Roamed an old mother zombie and her little zombies three.
"Fresh meat!" cried the mother. "Tastes sweet!" cried the three.
And they ripped out the intestines from the caretaker, Lee.
 
Down in the graveyard by the mausoleum door
Lived an old mother werewolf and her little wolfies four.
"Fresh fat!" howled the mother. "Tastes great!" howled the four.
And they tore into the belly of the visitor, Lenore.
 
Down in the graveyard by the rusty old gate
Hung an old mother vampire and her little vampies eight.
"Fresh blood!" squeaked the mother. "Tastes good!" squeaked the eight.
And they sank their greedy fangs into the gravedigger, Nate.
 
 
Published in the September 2012 issue of Underneath the Juniper Tree.
 
Copyright 2012-2016 Dawn Pisturino. All Rights Reserved.
 
HAPPY HALLOWEEN! MAKE IT SCARY!

Sunday, October 9, 2016

Gacela of the Dark Death


Poem by Federico Garcia Lorca
 
 
I want to sleep the dream of the apples,
to withdraw from the tumult of cemeteries.
I want to sleep the dream of that child
who wanted to cut his heart on the high seas.
 
I don't want to hear again that the dead do not lose their blood,
that the putrid mouth goes on asking for water.
I don't want to learn of the tortures of the grass,
nor of the moon with a serpent's mouth
that labors before dawn.
 
I want to sleep awhile,
awhile, a minute, a century;
but all must know that I have not died;
that there is a stable of gold in my lips;
that I am the small friend of the West wing;
that I am the intense shadows of my tears.
 
Cover me at dawn with a veil,
because dawn will throw fistfuls of ants at me,
and wet with hard water my shoes
so that the pincers of the scorpion slide.
 
For I want to sleep the dream of the apples,
to learn a lament that will cleanse me to earth;
for I want to live with that dark child
who wanted to cut his heart on the high seas.
 
 
BIO: Federico Garcia Lorca (1898-1936) became one of the most important poets and playwrights in 20th century Spain. He was murdered by Franco's soldiers during the Spanish Civil War for his homosexuality and liberal political views.