THE LAND OF THE DEAD (I)



In the land of the dead
Nothing living dares move,
Screams resonate through
         the doleful night;
With no one to soothe
In the land of the dead.

In the land of the dead
No one even dares breathe,
Elephantine shapes winging
          just out of sight;
As all hope quickly leaves
In the land of the dead.

In the land of the dead
Night creatures prowl,
Strong women scream,
           strong men cry;
And young babies scowl
In the land of the dead.

In the land of the dead
Where the living all cower,
Mournful howling resounds
       in the drear night sky;
Shrieking rings out the hour
In the land of the dead.

In the land of the dead
The living are doomed,
Only terror can live where
           no hope resides;
Lost dreams aren’t resumed
In the land of the dead.

In the land of the dead
Primaeval monsters hunt prey,
Where the living must slink
         and brave men hide;
Till the light of the day
In the land of the dead.

THE END
© Copyright 2021 Philip Roberts
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

About this poem

A horror poem about a terror-filled land; inspired by the writings of H.P.Lovecraft in particular.

Font size:
Collection  PDF     
 

Written on April 20, 2013

Submitted by PHIL_ROBERTS on September 06, 2021

Modified on March 05, 2023

54 sec read
6

Quick analysis:

Scheme AxxbxA AxcbdA AexfeA AgdfgA AhxxhA AicxiA xxx
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 967
Words 180
Stanzas 7
Stanza Lengths 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 3

Phil Roberts

I turn 65 on the 31st of January 2022. I love cats, rock music, and horror fiction and poetry more…

All Phil Roberts poems | Phil Roberts Books

7 fans

Discuss the poem "THE LAND OF THE DEAD (I)" with the community...

0 Comments

    Translation

    Find a translation for this poem in other languages:

    Select another language:

    • - Select -
    • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
    • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
    • Español (Spanish)
    • Esperanto (Esperanto)
    • 日本語 (Japanese)
    • Português (Portuguese)
    • Deutsch (German)
    • العربية (Arabic)
    • Français (French)
    • Русский (Russian)
    • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
    • 한국어 (Korean)
    • עברית (Hebrew)
    • Gaeilge (Irish)
    • Українська (Ukrainian)
    • اردو (Urdu)
    • Magyar (Hungarian)
    • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
    • Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Italiano (Italian)
    • தமிழ் (Tamil)
    • Türkçe (Turkish)
    • తెలుగు (Telugu)
    • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
    • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
    • Čeština (Czech)
    • Polski (Polish)
    • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Românește (Romanian)
    • Nederlands (Dutch)
    • Ελληνικά (Greek)
    • Latinum (Latin)
    • Svenska (Swedish)
    • Dansk (Danish)
    • Suomi (Finnish)
    • فارسی (Persian)
    • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
    • հայերեն (Armenian)
    • Norsk (Norwegian)
    • English (English)

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "THE LAND OF THE DEAD (I)" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/108747/the-land-of-the-dead-(i)>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    March 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    12
    days
    19
    hours
    47
    minutes

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    Which of these poets was not American?
    A Rudyard Kipling
    B Emily Dickinson
    C Walt Whitman
    D Ezra Pound