The Bogeyman

When I was a child, the Bogeyman

Lived in our water tank,

He’d grumble and rumble and growl all night,

I had my sister to thank,

She told me about his giant claws

And the great big teeth he had,

If I couldn’t get to the foot of the stairs

He’d be hot on my heels - How sad!

 

The tank sat next to the toilet seat

In a cupboard, close to a hatch,

It used to spring open and freak me out,

There was something wrong with the catch,

I’d pull on the rusted, clanking chain

And head for the landing, stairs,

If the water had stopped, before I dropped

The Bogeyman would be there!

 

He was only a second behind me then,

A second of terrors and fears,

The monster that lived in my sister’s brain

Has followed me, all these years,

I never could tell my Mother, or Dad,

They never would understand,

My sister said, in a voice of dread -

‘Only kids know the Bogeyman!’

 

We live in a world of monsters, who

Are waiting to gobble us up,

They follow behind, one second in time,

That second is all that we’ve got!

They pick off the stragglers, one by one,

They trip us and tear us apart,

If you’re old or lame, take your eye from the game,

The monsters will rip out your heart!

 

So when I heard the Horologists

Were planning to hold back time,

I knew that we were in trouble then:

‘Just a second,’ they said, ‘It’s fine!’

‘The earth has wobbled and lost just one,

It takes just one to adjust…’

I hid that night in the attic’s height

At the top of the stairs, and cursed!

 

The whole world wide has been thrust aside

By some atavistic past,

Where the monsters roam outside your home,

And the victims scream when attacked,

I sit and wait for the hand of fate

To rattle my own life’s plan,

And steady the gun, ahead of the run

Down the stairs, with the Bogeyman!

 

David Lewis Paget

 

(Horologists added one second to the last

Minute, at midnight, on 30 June 2012,

 to adjust Solar Time to Atomic Time).

Reviews

[Tate Morgan]

Oh man I loved this .I know of the time loss from the Japanese tsunami.Such a pleasant read for us all.I like that your twilight zone stories are laced in childhood fantasies and fears. Truth is i dont like scary but your stories arent scary they are seen from the eyes of the misinformed or childish or superstitious ,.Beautiful renderings of mankinds fears and dreams

[Dayran]

That's a very apt comment Tate.

[BlackRose]

Love this. Magnificent! I feel like I was watching the Twilight Zone. Also felt like I was that kid being scared each time. It kept me interested and wanting to read on through, even though I'm not much for things that are too scary.

[Cole Hayley]

Very nicely done :). I love how you stick to the abab format throughout the whole poem and kept it intresting, it really says something about the piece. I love the Horologists piece, very well done.

[Distant horizons]

Brilliant, And finally, a grown up admits they exist. Kids all around the world will now feel vindicated. Superb write.

[Kimberly "Melody" Carne..]

I am adding this to my favorites. This was outstanding and fun to read with a twit of truth about the time we gained it make me take “just a second” to think. And I toss my head and laugh as my daughter to this day have my 13 year old freaked about the Bogeyman!

[...]

Outstanding!