Skip to main content

Casa embrujada

Built in world war two
the Spanish house stood
along the road
Capiz shells made up
its windows

Mom and daughter upstairs
went down the exterior
staircase to join the family
for evening stories
downstairs

They chatted for hours
until the wind howled
and the heavens poured
as they adjusted the cord
to record memoirs

Uncle Roth began
"farewell my motherland...."
they pressed the play button
to hear how the verse
got on

Out came "yakan, yaweh..."
children voices sang
tuneless, dwarfish, wee
dear Lord what's up with Thee
not a word from motherland!

Nervously they laughed at how
the recording turned out
but when they did
a dusty laughter they heard
from the empty upstairs

As if to mimic and mock
their jaws to shock
and brittle their hairs
to convert them
into believers.


Until now I still don't know what 'yakan, yaweh' is. I scoured the net for hints with very little success. The words are as fresh on my mind as I heard them 28 years ago.

Haunted House on Thursday Think Tank

Comments

Ella said…
oooh, I'd love to hear more! Your images are haunting!
Hazel said…
Thanks Ella for dropping. I'll think of more. Those ghosts are always around.
madhumakhi said…
That was chilling. God knows where ghosts must be hiding. The way an ordinary dinner time bonding-session ended was hair-raising.
Brother Ollie said…
nice one - totally enjoyable!
Kerry O'Connor said…
This does make the hairs stand up! Your narrative certainly captures the eerie atmosphere of a ghost house all too well.
Laurie Kolp said…
Spooky! Reminds me of how we used to try and spin albums backwards to hear secret messages.
Judy Roney said…
Even more frightening to hear the the story is real. Oh my! The scene you describe, the eerie photo and the thought that it is a true story is a dynamite, late night story!
Isabel Doyle said…
what an intriguing tale in your poem: eerie and shivery

Popular posts from this blog

The Hunchback of Abella

A Duet When I was about 8 years old, I sang Something's Happened to Daddy in church. My father was not a church-goer so the guy I sang with was my mother's friend's husband. Papa keeps coming to my mind these days. January is the month he was felled by a massive coronary. Next week on the 14th is the anniversary of his death. The only times he ever set foot in church were during weddings and funerals of family and friends. I remember him being present in church eagerly when I was a flower girl at an aunt's wedding. Finally he entered church one more time. At his own funeral. I made sure church was the very place he went to before the cemetery. I only wished he was the one I sang with. Amy hosts head over to Signs, Miracles and Wonders for more music or to join ************************************ Guns n' Roses and the Hunchback of Abella My childhood was what can most likely be called normal. There was a balance of happy and sad memories. Today's

Sense and Sensibility: 200th anniversary

In 1811 Thomas Egerton of Whitehall, London published Sense and Sensibility . Quick math shows it has been two centuries since Jane Austen became a full-fledged author. Quite an anniversary, indeed. A celebration, I declare . Blogs regarding the publication anniversary of this romance novel picture Jane Austen 's engagements whilst making the final touches of her manuscript from Sloane Street. In letters to her sister Cassandra, Jane gave accounts of her shopping for muslin, the party that their brother Henry and SIL Eliza gave; mentioned several acquaintances, and referred to her book as S and S . As a fan I wonder which between sense and sensibility did JA deem more important since she portrayed both attributes equally well. I'm obliged to enthuse over my S & S reading experience. Alas, I only managed fourteen chapters before getting sidetracked by another novel, the very first that JA wrote. I will resume and complete my affair with the celebrant before 2011 end

Thirteen 13-word Quotes

1. I may be wrong , but I have never found deserting friends conciliates enemies. Margot Asquith , British Political Hostess (1864-1945) 2. Man's love is of man's life a thing apart; Girls aren't like that Kingsley Amis , English novelist and poet (1922-1995) "A Book Idyll" ~ see possible origin, also a 13- word quote: M an's love is of man's life a thing apart, 'Tis woman's whole existence Lord Byron (1788-1824) 3. An autobiography is an obituary in serial form with the last instalment missing. Quentin Crisp , English writer The Naked Civil Servant (1968) 4. Happy the hare at morning for she cannot read the hunter's waking thoughts. W.H. Auden , English poet (1907-73) Dog Beneath the Skin 5. Kissenger brought peace to Vietnam the same way Napoleon brought peace to Europe. (by losing) Joseph Heller, American novelist (1923- ) 6. Guns aren't lawful; Nooses give; Gas smells awful; You might as well live. Dorothy Parker ,