Sunday, October 6, 2019

Of Pumpkins and Shamans





It is a chilly October night. Mist is rising in the field; shapeshifters are lurking at the edge of the forest, weaving among the ghostly trees. Pumpkins roll and tumble down the cabin steps; the black cat, arching and spitting fear, tail straight up, yowls and skitters  away. It is a chin-whisker past the witching hour.

The shaman walks the medicine way, leaving no footprints. The shriek of the night-bird bids us follow. Hush, for there be restless spirits here. Gather your cloak tightly around you, for the fog will poke its chilly fingers at exposed human skin, trying to steal some warmth for itself.

"Whooooo are youuuuuu?" asks Owl, the words forming in smokey puffs as they emerge from her beak.

Above, the stars hold the promise of who you will be a thousand years from now. Gaze well, so when, one day, you meet, you will recognize yourself.

Owl bids us safe passage, as we traverse this eerie, darkling, midnight world. Let us hasten. Our shaman guide's cloak is already swirling with the swiftness of his being gone.


                                         ***

181 words for Magaly's Octoberfest at the Pantry of Prose andPoetry. This shaman has wandered into my poems before. I was happy at his reappearance.


23 comments:

  1. Oh, Sherry, I'm so glad you showed up today with this "terrifying" tale! It would be delightful to hear you recite it in person someday. (I was on Vancouver Island several years ago; didn't know at the time that you live there.) **shiver**

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  2. I love the sounds, eerie and magical and full of mystery. I can picture the wise owl, sitting at the gate, finding us (and our shaman guide) worthy to walk forward and explore the unknown. I love that this reads like guided meditation that wears October as a cloak.

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  3. Beautiful. The owls were bellowing out last night here as well.

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  4. I often hear the owls in our woods. This is a magical poem Sherry! The 4th stanza is beautiful and amazing. It is truly magic.

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  5. Your piece is atmospheric and describes my idea of a perfect October night. I love the phrase ‘a chin-whisker past the witching hour’, Sherry!

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  6. This is deliciously spooky, Sherry!!❤️

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  7. I do love how you brought in the Native American myths to cure you from demons we see in the black cats...

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  8. The in-between times have a siren-like quality to them, pulling those of us who are still guided by our sense of wonder.

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  9. Oh, I love this! My, aren't you good at his prose thing? Please, more stories!

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  10. I feel as if I'm following a pumpkin and this place you've led me is wonderful and overwhelming at once. You know all the best doors into wonder! :)

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  11. Wooo! I'm there. This makes Octoberals haunting, fun and deep all at once.

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  12. Pure poetry. Love "Above, the stars hold the promise of who you will be a thousand years from now. Gaze well, so when, one day, you meet, you will recognize yourself."

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  13. As I was reading I felt I had fallen into a Shaman's dream and owls are often messengers in the night.



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  14. Great stuff, Sherry! My hat's off.

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  15. My favorite part is every single word! What a beautiful story and I love how you tied it all up with that eerie ending of the shaman's cloak swirling with the swiftness of his already being gone. Perfection my friend!

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  16. Beautiful, Sherry. Next time I hear the owl screeching I will follow for a bit. I am thinking it won't be as eerie romantic as yours, like sweet and sour.
    ..
    p.s. We too spent time, a day, in Victoria and the Buschart Gardens. There were 16 of us returning from Alaska and had rented a small bus from Vancouver. We took the long way back to the Ferry, the island is beautiful. Follow the Owl? Perhaps.
    ..

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  17. When I first started writing on the web I wrote short stories and serials so I am quite pleased to get back to that as well as poetry. My guess is that you would be quite happy writing stories too Sherry!

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  18. I love the chin whisker away - reads like an old folktale - wise and true

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  19. Oh,wow! This is the best piece of prose by you, Sherry. It is evocative and enthralling. There's a magic that's easy to feel not only in the air but in your words; the swirling and swiftness of the Shaman guide's cloak.

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  20. Thank you for your lovely words, my friends. I have written a fair bit of prose in my time, but have focused more on poetry the last ten years....time to turn towards prose again, methinks, as well.

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  21. meeting the stars and recognizing yourself.... lovely

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  22. Wow, this is just the best imagery ever! From the rolling pumpkins, chin-whisker past the witching hour,fog creeping around to touch you with cold fingers, to that magnificent owl. Love this!

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