THE THING OUTSIDE
Phil Roberts 1957 (Melbourne)
Something's lurking
Outside on your window sill,
Something truly evil.
Babadook? Manticore?
Hippogriff, or unicorn?
All you know is fear.
Something is knocking
Upon your window pane. The wind,
Or something more?
Something horrid
Whose visage alone can kill?
Or merely alley cat?
Something ghostly
Perhaps a bedroom sheet,
Or something terrifying.
Perhaps passing phantoms
Things from the Netherworld?
Or perhaps newsprint.
Something shimmering
Like a ghostly night light,
Ephemeral and strange.
Perhaps a newspaper
Reflecting innocent moonlight,
Or something dire.
Tucked up in your bed
You refuse to investigate,
Fearing the worst.
What is the thing outside?
Newspapers, bed sheets,
Or something appalling?
THE END
© Copyright 2021 Philip Roberts
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
About this poem
Something's lurking Outside on your window sill, Something truly evil.
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Written on June 07, 2021
Submitted by PHIL_ROBERTS on June 08, 2021
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 34 sec read
- 0 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABX CXC AXC XBX XXA XXX ADX CDC XXX XXA XXX |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 751 |
Words | 114 |
Stanzas | 11 |
Stanza Lengths | 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3 |
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"THE THING OUTSIDE" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/102131/the-thing-outside>.
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