The Ten-0-One

We hadn’t been in the house for long,

We’d moved in overnight,

I hadn’t explored the neighborhood,

As a kid, that wasn’t right,

But the only time I had to see

After the daily chores,

Was after dark when my bike and me

Were free to roam outdoors.

 

I’d had to go to a brand new school

And I met this creepy kid,

He seemed to be breaking every rule

With the crazy things he did,

But I was the only friend he had

So he’d meet me after dark,

And we would ride through the neighborhood

And down through the Chestnut Park.

 

He said that he’d lived there all his life

Did I really want a thrill?

He’d take and show me where Noah’s Ark

Was buried under the hill,

Or maybe I’d like to see the train

That they called the Ten-0-One,

Whose boiler blew in the evening dew

And dismembered everyone.

 

The night was right for a ghostly tale

There was neither Star nor Moon,

In truth the sky had been overcast

Since the early afternoon,

We rode our bikes to the railway track

On the far side of the park,

I couldn’t see either path or tree

As we rode there in the dark.

 

At almost ten we could hear the train

As it laboured up the hill,

And then the sparks from its stack were seen

In the smoke it chuffed out still,

It loomed up black, and covered in soot

And I looked to see my friend,

Who stood on top of the tender coal

As it passed me on the bend.

 

I called out, ‘How did you get up there?’

As he danced, while looking scared,

A crazy look in his eyes up where

The glow from the fire box flared,

‘Come up,’ he screamed, ‘or you’ll miss the fun,’

But the train ran down the hill,

And left me stood by the bike he left

While I felt a sudden chill.

 

The sky lit up with the brightest light

That I’ve ever seen, I swear,

But even so, there wasn’t a sound

As the train blew up out there,

It left me shivering in the dark

There wasn’t a thought of fun,

I’d caught a glimpse of my watch before

It was just on Ten-0-One.

 

I rode back down the following day

To dispel the fear I felt,

My creepy friend had gone away

Though his bike lay where I knelt,

The railway line from a distant time

Was rusted and lay undone,

For never a train in eighty years

Had followed that Ten-0-One.

 

David Lewis Paget

Reviews

[Nila M.]

Amazing! There's not a whole lot more I can think to say about this. Just perfect and a wonderful and totally enjoyable read. Story of childhood, story about stories, ghost story. It's just has everything and I'm amazed that it was all done in rhyme. Thank you very much.

[Nila M.]

Ps. First addition to my library.

[David Lewis Paget]

Thanks Nila, haven't seen you before so it's always good to see a new face on WC. All my works are narratives, in rhyme, if you care to explore more.

[A Soap Mess Stories]

Another fantastic tale...a pleasure to read...

[R Smith]

Great David, love a ghostly train story and this one is brilliant, I wonder does the strange friend appear every time that train comes through the night onward to its doom, another excellent masterpiece of horror from your so poetic pen my friend Bravo!

[TrifectaNiteshade]

I loved this. I don't normally read poetry because I feel the complexities can easily be lost based on personal bias, but I loved this one. Just in time for the creepy season, too.

[Relic]

This is excellent David. Its like a tale out straight out of the twilight zone. Rod Serling would have loved it. :)

[Breanna Riddle]

i love the fact that you turned a scary story into an amazing poem with such details that the reader can't help but read on. This was simply amazing

[Celie Rose]

I really enjoyed reading your poem. Was very creepy!

[little thoughts]

Really creepy....simply enjoyed reading it!

[Barbz]

Your vivid imagination and your brilliant ability to relate the story in perfect rhyme and meter, as did the most famous Poets of the past is a gift few can claim. I feel fortunate to have many of your books to pass down to my grandchildren and theirs! With Deepest Respect, Barbz

[Jane Winters Rogers]

This is great ! I felt the darkness of the story from the very beginning..."we moved in after dark "...so I wondered about the new kid in the neighborhood as well? He was a weird one too! I didn't see the end coming!! Fabulous writing once again. This is a real eerie one. Revealing as you did, we were really dealing with 2 creepy kids, one a ghost , and one who could see things as they happened long ago,he returns to the " scene of the crime" just to check things out during the daylight and there is the discarded bike! Along with rusty old rails! Very, very, spooky! You are a great poet David