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WENDIGO

Way up in the northern marches
far back among the oaks and larches
where winds blow a melancholy tone
take caution if you walk alone.

When winter's burden cloaks the land
and all is gray and white and bland;
the silence rings and all is still
frozen solid as each tiny rill.

In hunting, keep gun close to hand
load bullets of a silver brand.
Stay alert, keep all in view....
a hunter may be hunting you.

That distant crack of breaking limb
might be all you hear of him
motion just glimpsed to your sides
a flash before he turns and hides.

Its heart so cold it's made of ice
claws like scythes prepared to slice.
Some say Grendle's closest kin.
bane of all lone stalking men.

Ravenous hunger never sated;
take care that you are not fated
to be killed, or even harder
stored still alive in his foul larder.

The Cree Jack Fiddler now is gone
who hunted them from dusk to dawn
sending fourteen monsters to their doom
in the far north winter's gloom

So should you enter winter's keep
take care to not go in too deep.
When passes become blocked by snow
comes the time of Wendigo.

Wendigo- a mythic creature of the far north. A monster which craves human flesh and which is never filled no matter how much it eats. Said to have been formerly human but damned to wander as a Wendigo for having resorted to cannibalism in extreme circumstances

Style / type: 
Structured: Western
Review Request (Intensity): 
I want the raw truth, feel free to knock me on my back
Review Request (Direction): 
What did you think of my title?
How was my language use?
What did you think of the rhythm or pattern or pacing?
How does this theme appeal to you?
How was the beginning/ending of the poem?
Editing stage: 

Comments

I think that this is one of your best, filled with atmosphere , and I wouldn't change a syllable.

Lou

Stand tall, be proud to be who you are, give the world the finger!!!!

Well, with halloween approaching I knew folks would be writing about ghosts, witches, and the usual creatures. I thought this pretty much neglected monster deserved a mention. Glad you visited and enjoyed...........stan

author comment

Kind of thought you'd like this subject lol. Thanks for the visit and kind comment............stan

author comment

until i read the foot notes wherein you have explained the myth of Wendigo i couldn't fully comprehend the theme of your poem but thanks to that explanation the poem comes alive in its true colors...

raj (sublime_ocean)

I figure a lot of people would be unfamiliar with this legend and knew some explanation of a few stanzas was in order. Thanks for dropping by............stan

author comment

You ought to look up wendigo on web. It's even worse than poem describes .............stan

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Trust this old duffer to misspel at least one word per poem lol. I'll get that fixed post haste. I see in the original hand written version of this that I actually syarted off with stay alert. I apparently changed it during posting to keep alert thinking it might sound more poetic. I reckon I'll leave as is for now but that's not to say i won't change it some time down the road.

Beowulf is the first really old poem I was ever exposed to. I can still picture my senior English teacher (one of the last of the old time teachers. Dressed in almost Victorian style and must have been about 60 years old then) reciting it while in front of the class. She stood there and stomped on the floor in time to the beat of the poem.

Suprisinly there was a receny made for TV version of the story which I thought was pretty good. It even had the chronicler of the court reciting the tale as it happened in spontaneous rhyme while all in attendance either clapped or stomped in time. ...enough of my big mouth for now lol. I'm pleased you think well of my revisions.........stan

author comment

Sorry my comment was lost due to me leaving Neopoet for a while.
This is one I like as you said in your original answer.
A grand story of the things that crack the frozen twigs, to make the hair on your nape prickle and sweat to appear no matter how cold it is.
Loved the story made me cold walking around all that snow..
Yours as always Ian.T
PS:- thanks Beau for retrieving this one.

.
There are a million reasons to believe in yourself,
So find more reasons to believe in others..

It had gotten cold enough here lately that I got to thinking about this scribble and decided to review it for improvement. Glad you enjoy this version which has a few minor modifications....Single Word modifications...somebody needs to run a shop about importance a word change here and there can have lmao.......stan

author comment

I never cease to be amazed how often a minor edit which sends apoem back to the head of the stream can result in so much attention. I've looked over your ideas and am likely to incorporate some of or some semblence of them when next I edit this. I appreciate the in depth critique and your dropping by............stan

author comment

You ventured outside your southern domain with this little gem! Nicely penned excursion into the northern mythology that shrouds the colder places in the heart as well as the land! Great job!

Trust you to find a secondary level which even I was unaware of lol. But it's now tretty obvious how this could, in its entirety, be taken as ametaphor for a cold heart and the dangers thereof. Thanks for the eye opening and for coming by..............stan

author comment

Stan, this brings me to a peaceful place in a time of turmoil.

joe

When a poem about a canabilistic flesh shredding former human monster instill a sense of peace I must assume it's the Tone which does so, not the content lmao. But whatever the case I'm glad you took time to read this and am pleasedto have been of assistance.........stan

author comment
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