The first story is from an ancient land,
Where far and near was only sand.
A desert where no life was welcome,
The life that came would soon succumb.
Not to the weather, not to forces of nature,
But to some unearthly creature.
For what else could one make of the place,
As it seemed to lack God’s mercy and grace.
Nevertheless, a town prospered,
Its people stayed most undeterred.
Their leader was a man of will,
Faith and courage he vowed to instill.
“Heed my words and all will be well.”
He even taught them a short spell
“My master wishes his mercy on you,
You are welcome to claim your due
From my master, for his errand I run
These onions I carry for his sickly son.”
Their leader repeated his words again,
“Fret not of the outcome, just be gone then.
It may find me sometime, night or day,
I’ll fend it off, I have learnt a way.
Question me not upon the matter,
If you want our children to be fatter.”
The townsfolk took heed and great care,
They traveled together, always as a pair.
They avoided the desert and its dunes,
For fear of the ghoul and its hellish tunes.
“Dear husband, what have you done?
We have neither a daughter, nor a son.
What if this ghoul paid us a visit?”
“I lied, I must admit.
But I’ve come to learn its secret.
Once on a journey, I felt most upset.
That is when I heard a ghoulish howl.
What is that stench! So fowl!
It yelled at me as I was jolted,
With my onions, I hastily bolted.
The ghoul abhors onions it seems
Now, sleep well my dear, pleasant dreams.”
That night some heard an unearthly wail,
The leader woke up and looked frightfully pale.
The next day, the townsfolk shared their fears,
“My brothers and sisters, lend me your ears,
Last night, a ghoul indeed found me,
So I brought out onions for it to see.
Fear not, for it has retreated back to nowhere
Let this gift of life not go spare.”
The townsfolk cheered and got to their chores
In time, the city coffers grew and so did their stores.
Now and then, they heard a ghoulish shriek
They grew accustomed to it, week after week.
Then a day came of great celebration,
The town leader revelled with his administration.
A feast was held at the leader’s abode,
Exquisite food and drinks flowed.
Seasoned with ‘baharat’, the meat was divine,
But the leader felt a chill down his spine.
“I don’t feel too well, I must rest.”
Saying that, he disappeared from the fest.
His wife tried to follow him
But he turned her away with a tone most grim.
She pressed her ear against his bedroom door,
She feared for him, a strange wailing he bore.
She had to know what troubled him so,
That’s when she remembered the secret window.
She took to the stairs and turned away the flap,
As she peered below, from a long forgotten gap.
“Its not fair, she tricked me, she tricked me!
That evil step mother, how could I not see?
The nutmeg of her ‘baharat’ each day,
It killed me too soon, it whisked my life away.
And now again, when I find some solace,
She’s after me again, she enjoys this chase.
Soon I will overpower her as I feast
Day after day, I gather the souls of the deceased.
The other ghouls, they taste fine,
Soon all these mortals will be mine.”
The leader laughed and cried and laughed at fate
It looked above and smirked at her straight.
About the post: This is my first post for my poetry blog. I know it’s long 😦 I am still learning to edit my thoughts and words, hope you enjoy the storyline though. The post largely paints a picture around the beliefs surrounding “ghouls”. I have purposely left the story open ended, maybe I will work on it’s sequel sometime. Hope you found it interesting.
Random Musings 