THEY

Whispers in the dark

I never told

Anyone this,

And I probably shouldn’t

But here it goes.

Tonight

Is the anniversary

Of my eldest

Son’s death.

 

Mark was eleven

When he disappeared.

This day

Ten years ago.

He never came home,

We looked relentlessly

But no Mark.

Only his shoes were found

Ten feet apart

In Banana Park.

 

I don’t understand

How no one heard him

No one

How a little boy cries for help

Goes unheard.

When it looked

As if he were running,

Running from something

Or someone

Running for his life.

 

How could somebody

Be

So twisted

So cruel

So malevolent.

To take him

My son

Away from us.

 

I am left to browse

Through his things

The pain

The hurt

The anguish

The anger

The hatred

The loneliness

I am left with these things

 

I still keep them

Hold them

Hug them

Kiss them

And talk as if

As if

He was still here.

 

I know

He’s gone

Gone!

The word alone

Stings

Turns my stomach

How I hurt inside

How I miss him so

How I loved him

But now

Now

He’s gone

Gone!

 

Is it wrong?

For me

To feel like this?

Am I crazy?

To hold on

Is it wrong?

To keep him here.

 

I’m scared

scared

I might forget

And loose him forever.

 

I hang on tight

To his things

So I won’t

Forget.

I won’t

I can’t

My head throbs

My heart aches

My tears run its course

Bring him back to me

Bring him back

I plead.

 

One book

Many drawings

For a boy age 11

He was so talented.

 

As I looked through it,

Admiring them

Little by little

They became dark

And, menacing.

 

There was

One sketch he drew

One

Of a tall man

All in black

With a hat

He was

Faceless

Surrounded by figures

It hit me

Like a rock

I went back

Thirty years.

 

Those figures

That thing

I had seen

Them both

When

I was nine years old

 

The nightmares

My day terrors

Those horrific

Days I had spent

In the asylum

Alone

No one believed me

No one heard me say

It’s him!

 

It scared me then

It scares me now

That tiny voice

I heard

That spoke his name

Made the hairs

On the back of my neck

Stand on end

That whisper

Sends chills down my spine,

Boogieman

 

He drove me insane

He made me

Crazy!

No

I forgotten him

No

It’s not him

It’s not!

It can’t be

 

I turn the page

Mark’s words

Now stare up at me.

His title alone

Had frozen me,

Like daggers in my heart,

I could not breathe.

 

 

They

 

Like spirits they are

Prancing and dancing

Playing games in the dark

Eyes that glows

 

In and out they dart

From the corners of my eyes,

They are shadows

They are ghostly spies

 

They hide in the shadows

It is where they stay

Watching and waiting

Night and day.

 

Today they whispered

Boogieman would come for me,

That tonight I would

Scream and plea

 

Into darkness

I go

What awaits me?

I do not know

 

They are shadows

Playing games in the dark,

It is where they wait for me

In Banana Park.

 

For this was

Mark's last entry,

My heart, it aches

I feel so empty.

The chills I had felt,

With dread

All around me

Boogieman he said.

 

NO! NO!

I scream,

Take me, take me!

I plead

Bring him back

To me

Bring him back.

For tonight

Is the anniversary

Of my eldest

Son’s death.

 

Tonight I go back

To that park

It is they I wait for

Alone in the dark.

Author's Note

Revised.

I hope I gave you a chill, *whispers in the dark behind you*

Reviews

[Cherrie]

This is a earth shattering tale, for any family.
Monsters are real. They prey on those weaker than themselves. So, knights must be real and have a keen eye.

[lawrence bear]

Sorry for the late reply. I am glad you read this piece. Very much appreciated.

[Sean M. Addams]

Very cool chillin piece . Looked the story line a lot in this . Overall I thought you did an awesome job on this dark piece

[lawrence bear]

Thanks sean. Thanks you for your review

[Sean M. Addams]

No problem

[D Connolly]

Very nicely done. A poem within a poem, a good story, heartstrings are pulled on a little bit, and a plan for possible vengeance?? I will have to go through the Supernatural files and see if there is a remedy for Boogeymen...

[lawrence bear]

Thank you D. Hope you enjoy my work.

[PWyates]

The flow of the words is seriously effective, makes the whole thing really sing. Good job!

[lawrence bear]

Thank you for your review.

[Gabriel B. Burns]

Well written. I particularly liked the way you formatted the piece. Pardon the cliché, but I could feel the emotion. Good work.

[Veronica Ostling-Hirsch..]

This was decidedly a step-up from the previous edition, most notably on the length to which you mourn for the child; though it got to be a bit over-bearing with the heart break, the punctuation was slightly off (I attribute this to the tone of madness that is being conveyed). The idea of slender man in this instance is quite vague- too vague to the point that he's not scary, but is the known antagonist. If this were someone's first time hearing his name they would be mildly interested but not paranoid with fear. Overall, this piece was still very good; your character was revealed gracefully and the events leading to him going to "sacrifice" himself for his son are understandably relatable. Thank you for revising this, it's been a pleasure yet again to critique your work. Well done.

[lawrence bear]

Thank you for taking time to review my piece. Your input is greatly appreciated.

[Veronica Ostling-Hirsch..]

Not knowing if the 'first' part is true or not, it does convey emotion well; I admit to nearly crying as I read. However, if this is a piece of fiction, which it may not be, so I assure you if it is true I give my condolences, that the name slenderman only be implied, as it was with his physical description. It was very poignant until that particular part, where the story weakened slightly. With light revision this could be a very delightfully horrific piece.

[lawrence bear]

Thank you for your reviews, :) much appreciated

[Bowers]

oh wow, what a write. how... emotional... how much hurt this father must feel. And I know how he feels about keeping his sons stuff, only because I lost my parents when I was 4, and I only have pictures to keep of them, thats all... I wish ,... oh how I wish, I had more things of theirs... I dont even have memories..

anyway, this was a great writing, it held so much within, I really enjoyed it. Ive never heard of slenderman, but... either way, yes, towards the end it was sketchy... in a cool way.

nice job!

[lawrence bear]

I am sorry for your loss. i thank you for taking time to review this

[Bowers]

your welcome, and thank you very much.

[Lillian]

all of the sudden slenderman..my girls have his game on the ipod..:))

[lawrence bear]

Not my doings, LoL but thanks for reviewing.

[Stacey Watts]

Wow very well written. You have always been great but I can see you are getting much better. Nice work.

[lawrence bear]

thank you :)