In “The Tortoise and The Hare,” which some of you may only know from your English textbook from primary school or its one too many cartoon adaptations, a humble tortoise and a pompous hare have a race. The tortoise is very slow. The hare taunts him by showing off and he has so much fun doing it, that he decides to pat himself on the … Continue reading ‘The Tortoise and The Hare’ Through the Ages
This is the truth of those so strange,They were believed to be fiction. Special, folks wanted, but on a specific range,Unique beats were eldritch, would estrange, In every sense, ‘Twas a strange conviction. A slight sway as is a skipping child’s way,And special began to scare them.Their children, they said, those shadows began to snare them. They ensconced the babes in asphyxiating shadows,That they birthed … Continue reading Changelings
Death is scary. And unless it’s Christ, someone coming back from the dead is scarier. You know those nights before a big meeting, an important exam, or a daunting confrontation, when your brain decides to be the way of a three-year-old before bedtime, and refuses to let you have some painstakingly earned rest? That brand of fear will be the subject of our discussion today; … Continue reading Let Dead Dogs, and Dead Men, Lie
Forget the States. Japan is the true land of opportunity. Anyone can be whoever they want to be. A doctor can be a schoolgirl during his days off, a bunch of schoolgirls can march together as one dragon, a dragon can be a respected symbol instead of a tattoo or a logo for a Chinese take-out place, and even a coffee mug can be ghost … Continue reading Wall of Weird #1: The Tsukumogami of Japan
Religious Associations In the garden behind my childhood home is a modestly sized banyan tree. My brother and I always pay it a visit every time we go back home. My father often ends his evening walks in its company. We planted it at a time much before my memory became dependably mature, but even now, as an adult, the tree holds a childlike fascination … Continue reading Trees and Witchcraft
My mother looks beautiful today. Draped in silken layers of blue and green, perched on an antique oak windsor, she seems a cosmopolitan manifestation of Gaia, the Earth Goddess. Her middle is rounded and bulging out, the blue and green of the stretched taut fabric making it look like a tiny Earth. I draw the parallel intrinsically, for my mother is my whole world. Just … Continue reading Baby Brother: Flash Fiction #1
I challenged myself to write in the cascade poem form developed by Udit Bhatia, but I gave up half way through when my focus shifted to my subject- a world renowned princess with skin white as snow, lips red as a rose and hair black as ebony. Hopefully, the original author was prone to exaggeration, because that sounds like the description of a soulless vampire. … Continue reading Snow White
The town folk gathered to witness the tru disciples of the folk nation put on a folk dance for their folks. Continue reading 7 Reasons to Study Folklore
The following poem is dedicated to a friend that lies all the time. I’m afraid it might take being turned into a donkey before he learns to not be an ass (the animal, not the curse word, because this is a PG-13 blog). A good boy, my son,Made with wood and magic.In the back-wood barn of a wood carver he was born,Ensued a lovely tale … Continue reading Marionette
The following poem, written in the villanelle poetry form, is inspired by the Arab legends of the Ghuls- cannibalistic, blood-drinking, grave-robbing, ugly cousins of the vampires. They are evil djinns that trick you into making a wish ‘Death Note’ or ‘Hell Girl’ style. Every self-serving wish comes with a generous side-serving of gruesome horrors, inflicted on others and yourself. It may come when called, but … Continue reading Inanition Called It
Fair Folk Lores 