A Cold Chilly Night

A Cold Chilly Night

A poem I wrote inspired by Halloween.


This is my first attempt at this kind of stuff.

So please go easy on me...haha
Poem was made to be spoken instead of read. So please watch the video instead of reading the text.

Enjoy!


Music is La_Valse_d_Amelie from the movie Amelie

A COLD CHILLY NIGHT   by Gary Kew

There was once a young boy who lived on a hill,

With his parents and grandparents and drunk uncle Bill,

He got yelled at one day, for scribbling with a marker pen,

So he decided to run away, and never come back again.

He packed his favourite book, and his friend Brown teddy,

A change of clothes he took, and now he was ready.

He walked down the hill, and noticed a man,

Standing very still, a big cane in his hand.

“You can see me?” he asked, with a big booming voice,

“Two in one night…but I guess I don’t have a choice,

“I’ll grant you a wish, on this cold chilly night,

Anything you desire, what ever your heart’s delight,

But be forewarned that the wish you make,

requires a payment I must take.”

“What if I want money, and toys all around,

Does that wish sound funny? Does it seem a bit unsound?”

“For that wish I will take a portion of your height,

Being shorter than most will be your plight.”

“What if I want smarts, to be creative in mind?”

“To be good at arts, and science combined?”

For that wish I will take your luck and good fortune,

From perils and woe you will not be immune.       

“What if I want, a voice to sing?

And an ear for accents, to entertain my offspring?”

For that wish I will take your family connection,

You will know the real meaning of parent’s rejection.

“What if I want to love, and love unconditionally?

To accept all imperfection, how much would that be?”

For that wish I will take nothing,

You are free to have it, if that’s what you’re wanting.

So the boy made a wish, on that cold chilly night,

To have love imbued forever, and heart freed of spite.

The man raised his cane, and the sky was lit bright,

And for a brief moment, the man’s face came to light.

The boy jumped back, yelping with fear,

The face had no nose, no mouth, no ear.

His eyes seem human, but they were bloodshot red,

As if he never got to sleep, but was crying instead.

And then he was gone, the tall crying man,

So the boy ran home, as fast as he can.

The boy grew up to be a fine lad,

met his first girlfriend while studying to grad.

The years went by, but their love stayed true,

Never a dull moment, it remained fresh and new.

He came home one day, a usual routine,

to see his girl he was very keen.

But the house was empty, the closet was bare,

And the love of his life was no longer there.

He looked for her high, he looked for her low,

“Not even a goodbye, why would she leave though??”

He slumped to the ground, heart filled with despair,

Confused and alone, misery fills the air.

Five years later, on a cold chilly night,

He spotted her again, and his stomach felt tight.

She had someone new, and a glow caught his sight,

A wedding ring on her finger, sparkly and white.

“I gave you everything!” the boy started to yell,

“Why did you leave me? Did you know I went through hell?”

“I’m sorry for what I’ve done, I really am I swear,

But there’s something I never told you, but now it’s time to share…”

“Twenty years ago, on a cold chilly night,

I met a tall man, who gave me quite a fright.

He had tears in his eyes, and a cane in his hand,

He granted me a wish, anything I demand.

“My parents constantly fought, and their life was such a mess,

So I wished not to be same, that my marriage would be the best.

He granted me this wish, but it incurred a fee,

That the one I love most, is not the one I marry.”

“It was so long ago, I completely forgot,

I was so happy with you, I never gave it a thought.

The day I left you, it’s still a blur,

I don’t remember how I ended up here.”

“Whenever I tried, to go back to you,

I get terrible nightmares, for reasons I can’t construe.

My husband has some talent, and dreams to pursue,

He’s loyal and affluent, its just that…he isn’t you”

And with those words she left again,

Leaving the boy to relish the pain.

Brimming with tears, as he wiped with a hand,

He thought he glimpsed, the crying man.

“YOU did this to her, what is your plan?

You knew this would happen before it began!”

“I feed on tears, all kinds of tears,

Of anguish and sadness and anger and fears.

My dear little boy, did you not notice?

the fees that I claim and their affinity that is.

The aim is to cause pain in the wishmaker’s life,

To make their hearts sink, and teeming with strife.”

“Then why did you not claim something from me?

When I asked for love, you gave it freely”

“I can’t read the future, but when your wish was made,

I knew great pain awaits when love cannot fade.

Your girl is now sad, but she will move on,

She will learn to love, and forgetting you is foregone.”

“But you little boy, will never forget,

That is what unconditional love begets.

You will cry every night, you will cry every day,

And supply me a feast, an endless buffet.

Your tears are unrivalled, they provide me a treat,

The pain of lost love, is so agonizingly sweet.”

Before the boy could even reply,

The crying man vanished in the blink of an eye.

The story goes, some say eventually,

The suffering killed the boy, ever so slowly.

But his love so strong, the yearning in his heart,

Bound him to this world and he couldn’t depart.

They say if you listen, in silence all around,

You can hear the boy whisper, a quiet little sound.

“Never lose yourself to love, even when it feels right,

Or you will end up like me, left alone, on a cold chilly night”