There’s a monster in the closet,
what sort I’m just not certain.
But scarier than anything
created by Tim Burton.
It may be a Nasal Nibbler
that will dine upon my nose.
And if it’s a Pedelsaurus
I will soon be missing toes.
But it just might be an Earwig,
and my lobes will soon be gone.
Or if it’s a Giant Strawbear,
I’ll be suckled dry by dawn.
Gosh! I wonder if it could be
a multi-jointed Thwinger,
that paralyzes quickly with
it’s long and twisted stinger?
A Qrink? A Slith? A dotted Whilk?
A brace of Blundersnatches?
A massive swarm of Firebugs
with bodies thin as matches?
Oh, if I go up against it,
I will not survive the fight.
So I’m running out of options
on this long and endless night.
I wish that I could yell for Dad,
but he’s living far away.
And my only phone is downstairs;
… and I’m forty in nine days.
K.C. Ball is a retired newspaper reporter and media relations coordinator, now living in Seattle. Her poetry has appeared here at Every Day Poets and her fiction has been published, or accepted for publication, at The Absent Willow Review, Boston Literary Magazine, Every Day Fiction, Fear & Trembling, Moon Drenched Fables, Morpheus Tales, Murky Depths, Resident Aliens, Static Movement and A Thousand Faces. Her flash fiction, “Hair of the Dog”, is included in the recent Best of Every Day Fiction 2008 anthology. K.C. blogs about writing at http://kcball.wordpress.com/.
18 Responses to “LATE NIGHT CONSIDERATIONS • by K.C. Ball”
Comments
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February 20th, 2009 at 1:01 am
[...] If you would like to check it out, it’s here. [...]
February 20th, 2009 at 4:09 am
I think that’s the antedote to yesterday’s EDF story!
February 20th, 2009 at 5:33 am
Funny last line in a spoof of childrens’ poems. Light treatment of genuine threat.
February 20th, 2009 at 5:41 am
I thought the same thing, Oonah.
February 20th, 2009 at 6:24 am
Cute one!
February 20th, 2009 at 7:42 am
nice one! thought the last line stuck out a little bit, but overall I enjoyed it.
February 20th, 2009 at 8:25 am
This piece is amazing. It’s so much fun. It’s like Dr. Seuss for adults. Great stuff!
February 20th, 2009 at 10:45 am
Ha!
Good stuff, KC.
February 20th, 2009 at 12:39 pm
Just too kool. Nice. I for one like the ending. I suppose I can relate.
February 20th, 2009 at 1:27 pm
By the way, BG, have you ever considered Mommy?
- Mommy
February 20th, 2009 at 2:01 pm
I was just about to make the Dr Seuss comparison, but (as usual) I’ve been beaten to it! Great stuff, K.C.
February 20th, 2009 at 9:28 pm
Goodness I never knew there where so many kinds of monsters living in the closet!Five for them monsters!
February 21st, 2009 at 9:29 am
Funny and clever… I enjoyed it.
February 22nd, 2009 at 5:16 pm
haha, couldn’t help but smile with that last line.
February 27th, 2009 at 7:44 pm
That last line really brings it home for me, too. Hey, after all, Stephen King admits that to this day he must sleep with a light on.
I compare it to Shel Silverstein as much as Dr. Seuss.
February 28th, 2009 at 12:48 am
Nick: Shel Silverstein was my hero. I met him once, when I lived in Key West. The man had a wicked sense of humor.
March 2nd, 2009 at 12:00 am
The ending of this one is priceless. Sorry it took me a while to get over here, K.C. I really enjoyed this.
March 7th, 2009 at 4:45 pm
K.C.: Keep an eye out; in the next month or two, we’ll be running a poem that is a nice little elegy to Shel.