Photo: Jim Kennedy via Flickr
This week I am hosting the Quadrille Prompt at dVerse Poets. I am asking for a poem of exactly 44 words, not including the Title, that includes the word FEAR. Remember, the prompt is open all week, so, hopefully, you will join us.
Nocturne
Owl screeches.
Frissons of fear ripple through shadowy woods,
tiny creatures scurry,
huddle ‘neath rocks and shrubs.
Full moon breaks through scattered clouds,
outlines the silhouette of dying
in pewter skies.
I remember the spill of blood in snow—
crimson drops. Mournful
dove, singing.
Victoria C. Slotto, Author 
Your images of fear within the night of nature are intense — blood on the snow, the scurrying of fast-beating hearts.
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It is a scary night. Can feel it, and loved it 🙂
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You set the scene so well. Wild and scary night!
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The nigjt is both beautiful and wild. I feel for the little creatures.!😊
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Such a vivid and scary image. I love the taste the words brings, each one is so delightful!
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Oh! So very atmospheric. Love the striking images in this. I was right there with the scurrying creatures. This reminds me of the story my mother-in-law told us about hearing an owl carrying off one of her stray cats. It was frightening just to hear her tell it.
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Loved this, especially the silhouette in pewter skies. Gave me a chill. I sure wouldn’t wanna be a furry woodland critter around those parts.
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Beautiful description. I love the words “pewter sky” especially. The eeriness of this dark forest @ night really comes across well. So well, u can picture yourself trying walk as quietly as u can through the woods to remembering memories of death, being haunted by the memory blood. Excellent 🙂
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Well done!
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so well captured…the night, darkness and blood….! Fear captured beautifully!
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You paint a beautiful picture in your poem.
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Such a deftly penned description of the silence that echoes fear in the night. Beautiful.
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Fear as a part of life and the natural world – the Fear which energises us to escape. Animals don’t see it as we do I am sure. In nature there is often a surrender of the victim to the aggressor. It is a good lesson perhaps.
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[…] for dVerse’s Quadrille #37–Be Not Afraid, hostd by Victoria Slotto. Go here to read other poet’s contributions. […]
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[…] response to dVerse’s Quadrille: Fear hosted by Victoria C. Slotto and MindLoveMisery’s Menagerie’s Wordle #166 hosted […]
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Ooh.. a haunting piece~
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Wow–you smacked this one right out of the park–such an artful use of 44 words. I agree–your last line is stunning.
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The mood created here is wonderfully foreboding, as though more than just the dove’s death is being foreshadowed. Love this!
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spill of blood in snow – something so primal juxtaposed with something so innocent and white. Very striking, beautiful, and sad.
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Good heavens, this is stunning:
“Full moon breaks through scattered clouds,
outlines the silhouette of dying
in pewter skies.
I remember the spill of blood in snow—
crimson drops. Mournful”
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Such strong images here. Love this, especially:
“Full moon breaks through scattered clouds,
outlines the silhouette of dying”
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Owl screeches remind me of the Scottish play, when Lady Macbeth.says: ‘Hark! Peace! It was the owl that shrieked, the fatal bellman, which gives the stern’st good-night’.
You have created a fearsome atmosphere, Victoria, with rippling frissons of fear and shadowy woods, I especially like:
”Full moon breaks through scattered clouds,
outlines the silhouette of dying
in pewter skies’.
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Shiver inducing poem. You captured the scene well.
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I love to hear owls hooting. I know death’s near for the cute critters, but it’s better than finding them in my cupboard, eek!
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All in nature know fear as well! Beautifully written.
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Frissions of fear – fresh line! Thanks for hosting and for writing this powerful poem, Victoria!
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Very beautiful and I hope the little scurriers escaped the owl..
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Oh, lovely. It reminds me of a time we saw wing prints in the snow where an owl had been. There’s a coldness to it.
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The ending is so vivid, and sad. Beautiful images throughout.
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Excellent example of how fear can be a good thing when there is real danger about.
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Shivers. Especially on the phrase “dying/in pewter skies. You have painted and sung the feeling of fear beautifully.
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THIS: “I remember the spill of blood in snow—
crimson drops.” Oh such vivid imagery.
The full moon, night, and the mournful sounds. I feel this….I sense this.
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Very Japanese-y. I love this view of the night and the creatures therein. Lovely job.
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Little creatures never seem to be safe even in the dark. In life the vulnerable are forever subjected to a lot of hassles
Hank
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Sad and beautiful!
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“outlines the silhouette of dying
in pewter skies.” — vivid! Very nicely put together, Victoria! Nature is…!
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[…] a quadrille on ‘fear’ for dVerse poets […]
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It must be horrible having something like an owl looking for dinner in the evening and we being its preferred dish.
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Very beautiful and evocative of nature at night.
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