Lantern Light

Lost in the woods

No end in sight

You hear the coyotes

Somewhere off to your right

So you run left

And you scream for your life

“Help me! help me!”

But you’re alone in the night

You press on

Your body pulsing with fright

Then, a miracle—

At the very edge of your sight!

Through the gnarled pines

And oaks claimed by the blight

You see in the distance

A lone lantern light

A hunters cabin!

Your soul howls with delight

The light’s on, someone must be home

You scream again, with renewed might

You’re still lost in the woods but you’re no longer alone

Still the coyotes yip, they may yet end your flight

You imagine their teeth

You imagine their bite

You tear through the brush,

Each leap is a fight

Wild roses tear your skin

You muster a scream, your chest is so tight

But you cling to some hope

For the lantern burns bright!

You press through the clearing

And emerge into a glow pale and white

You pound the front door

… it creaks open, swings wide

And you catch a cruel glimpse

Of what lies hidden inside

Taxidermy on the walls,

There are also some hides

—But none of them deer—

So you stare wide eyed

You spin on your heels,

For you know you’ll be much safer outside

But the Hunter is there,

The coy-dogs grin at his side

You try not to cry,

But your heart’s swept on the tide

Of your coming doom

Despite all that you’ve tried

You fall to your knees,

Because you don’t want to die

But you can see in his eyes,

There’s no mercy to buy

Under the gaze of his past trophies,

You let yourself cry

For you finally realize

The lantern light was a lie

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Authors note:

Initially I wanted to write about bioluminescence for the lantern light prompt, and that got me thinking about angler fish.

That got me thinking of light as a lure, and here we are.

This is for the “lantern light” vocal poetry challenge, I figured a horror take could be fun since it’s spooky season.

Hope everyone’s having a happy October!