Poetry | Free Verse

Dark Upon Dark and Into the Light

GiaB prompt #15: illumination

I’m taking you to the depths of the sea where it’s dark upon dark as dark as can be to the domain of a fish that’s scary as hell close your eyes if you wish I have a story to tell This fish is so ugly it will give you a fright its teeth are ginormous they devour prey in one bite Those poor little preyed-upons never did stand a chance they’re bewitched by the light that twinkles a wee dance Just remember, down there it’s the pitch of dead night ‘cept for the bio-luminescence of a baited death lamp that’s attached to a spine on the head of the fish a lantern that dangles and bobs within an inch of those teeth Those poor little suckers how could they know they’re being reeled in by a welcoming glow that belongs to their killer the fish with a lit lure It’s the death wish anglerfish.

© Carolyn Hastings 2021

Thank you to Chloe Paulina Hawes for tagging me into Genius in a Bottle’s #15 prompt, Illumination. Chloe’s response to the prompt, her poem, Spiders Weaving as I Dream, is in the sphere of horror-movie creepy. When I put the creepy and illumination ingredients together, the result for me was anglerfish! I can assure you, I am much happier observing the marine world from above the surface (see, here) than I am from below it. I have absolutely no desire, let alone intention, of coming face-to-face with the bio-luminescent bait-bearing anglerfish. 😬 😱 That said, I hope you enjoyed reading my poem as much as I enjoyed writing it — from the artificially illuminated space of my desk. 😄

Here is Chloe Paulina Hawes’s awesomely nightmarish poem, Spiders Weaving as I Dream -

For those interested in finding out more about GiaB’s Illumination prompt, here are the guidelines -

I know time is of the essence, but I’d be delighted if these clever folk could throw some light of their own on the topic — Dr. Preeti Singh | Adelia Ritchie, PhD | Ellen Cappard | Leslie Nicole | Arpit Ravichandran 🙏 😊