He screamed out to the heavens,
And ran from shadows.
He yelled out for help,
Promising to be saintly,
And to never sin.
He called for mother,
And his cowardly father,
Begging for their help.
He reached a clearing,
And to his eyes he saw home,
His sanctuary.
He knocked on the door,
Apologizing loudly,
His eyes wet with tears.
The door swung open,
And it was not his parents,
But the skin tree witch.
Her face was slimy,
Her hair full of black spiders,
And her eyes moon white.
She grabbed him quickly,
Then flew into the darkness,
Never to return.
They say if you search,
You can find the witch's tree,
With a dead boy's face.
The Faceless
One hot summer day,
A fisherman travelled far,
In search for big fish.
Upon a long road,
He travelled farther than most,
Into stranger lands.
He found a cool pond,
So he sat and cast his rod,
Hoping for a bite.
A nibble and pull,
And the fisherman held tight,
Fighting the prized beast.
Hours had gone by,
Sun setting and light fading,
But still he pulled tight.
The beast came ashore,
Tired, bruised, and beaten,
It gave up the fight.
The fisherman won,
And he shouted out with joy,
Holding his trophy.
Then he looked around,
And saw he was lost in night,
Nothing to guide him.
He packed his prize fish,
And followed the long road,
Looking for landmarks.
Then he heard crying,
He looked around and saw her,
A young, pale girl.
Down by a river,
She wept kneeling in the rocks,
Hands over her face.
The fisherman spoke,
"Young woman, why do you weep?
Please show me your face."
She lowered her hands,
And he screamed out in terror,
For she had no face.
He ran for his life,
Holding his fish in his arms,
And blind as a bat.
He was again lost,
Treading through darkness and mud,
Until he saw light.
It was campfire,
With three men sitting on logs,
Their backs turned to him.
The fisherman spoke,
"I have seen a great horror,
A faceless girl!"
There was a silence,
And then the three men stood up,
Turning to face him.
The tallest man said,
"Did she look something like this?"
They all were faceless.
The fisherman ran,
Leaving his large fish behind,
Never looking back.
Ghost Haiku Page 2