​The Demon Inside (Villanelle)
 
We see the person you hide
the secret under your true skin
The fiery demon inside
 
the smile is where you lied
an insincere grin
We see the person you hide.
 
angelic eyed
gateways to the underneath sin
The fiery demon inside
 
presenting the delicate side
there is fire within
We see the person you hide
 
respect for others is set aside
makes your thoughts thin
The fiery demon inside
 
the true you can be a blindside
seeping though the skin
We see the person you hide
The fiery demon inside
 
May 5, 2023
©Andrew Scott – Just a Maritime Boy 2023

​The Gatekeeper
 
The Gatekeeper’s giggle
echoes in my head
as my mind awakes
in my terrified bed.
 
Hardly remember my dreams.
Tonight is the exception.
Playing over and over again
through my tired eyes.
 
The Gatekeeper opened the entrance
to let my lucid mind in.
Smiling while closing the gates,
trapping me inside.
 
I walk down a red, dirt tunnel.
In the end, there is a firelight.
An older lady with a hidden face
offers a clear glass of liquid
That I take and drink.
It is thick and bitter.
My body reacts like it is a cleanser.
As I cannot stop drinking,
feel light as I leave the room.
 
Next place is so dark,
all I hear is water flowing.
I cannot see it
so a fear is rising in me.
Not knowing where it is.
One step and I could go under.
As soon as a toe hits the waters
I turn and run.
 
End up in a grey, snowy area.
A black and white bench
inviting me to sit.
An arm wraps around my shoulder.
One that I feel but cannot see.
Whispering words of comfort
and guidance to my ear.
I turn my head in hopes
that I can see who it is.
I cannot see the face
but the voice I know.
 
The leads to my waking,
drenched in my own sweat,
more tired than before.
Sleep will not be brought back.
All the mind hears repeatedly
is the Gatekeeper’s giggle.
 
March 2, 2023
©Andrew Scott – Just a Maritime Boy 2023
 

​The Hanging Ghost
 
You would never know it today
however this dirt road of nothing
was a bustling, small town
over a short century ago.
 
This little, logging town
was full of families and work.
Now there is a ghostly shadow.
 
A shadow provided by a farm hand
who had enough after a day of scolding,
struck the lady of the house
with a blade to the throat,
taking her voice and life.
 
He was tried three times
until the system got it right.
Sentenced to the Hanging Tree.
 
To this day, there are many
in communities that surround here
that day the hanging man
was innocent all along.
 
The spirit of darkness
overcame this community
as people passed on or left
and the twon became desolate.
Abandoned by ancestors.
 
The only one still here
on this overgrown, dirt road,
the tortured, hanging ghost.
 
June 27, 2023
©Andrew Scott – Just a Maritime Boy 2023