by Theresa Donnelly
Belinter Enoch Wartson
alias ‘The Bogeyman’
wanders villages at twilight
in a mule drawn caravan.
Stories about him thrive
in shires from south to north
a terrifying sight
as he travels back and forth.
His eyes are burning coals
his face a sickly shade
which he hides beneath a hat
of catgut-thread brocade.
He wears a cloak of rat’s skin
combed and sewn together
it warms his gnarled bones
in times of coldest weather.
But his heart will never thaw
it remains hard and cold as ice
it is nothing short of being more
than a mechanical device.
Belinter Enoch Wartson
is evil to the core
a minion of malevolence
and repugnant furthermore.
He sold his soul long ago
if the truth be told
for every child he delivers
he's paid a bag of gold.
His nails are coiled and yellow
his mane is full of lice
but children are charmed into believing
that he is sweet and kind and nice.
He’s lured them by the dozen
between ages three and ten
with a melody of ‘come hither child’
they are never seen again.
The villagers live in fear;
their children told to hide
for the consequence is fatal
if they hear his song outside.
It sends them into a trance
from which they cannot stray
they board the creaking caravan
which then takes them far away.
Out across the Moors
it trundles over rock and stone
it's only then they realize
they will not be going home.
They are thrown into a chute
which emits a putrid smell
it's the only way to get
the innocent into Hell.
Bio
Theresa Donnelly is an Irish/Canadian poet who spends her time between Waterville, Co. Kerry and Brooklin, Ontario. Her work has been widely published on both sides of the Atlantic. She is the author of two poetry books, Moon Witch and Other Scary Poems and Recurrence of Blue. Growing up in Dublin, the city of Dracula’s Bram Stoker definitely influenced and fed her appetite for the macabre www.theresadonnelly.com
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