You stand there
Staring at me
All day
Every day
from across the field,
A mockery of a human being.
You think you can fool me
into thinking you’re something you’re not?
The others stay away in fear
but
One day
– when you least expect it –
I will swoop in
And peck your eyes out.
scarecrow.
By: Allison Gems
Sometimes I’m sad
Sometimes I’m mad
Sometimes I’m Vlad
When the moon’s too loud
And the shadows shout
Then the fangs come out
And I prowl the streets
And I dance to beats
Freaking out people that I meets
Then come home again
To velvet-lined bed
Where I rest my head
Till alarm wakes the dead
(The dead is me.
I am vampire.)
By: Allison Gems
The dead are knocking at our door
They want to come to dinner
Some young and fine, at once divine
Some grizzled, grinning sinners
They cry for roasted chickens
Tender, juicy, brown
Potatoes, pies and pork chops
They aren’t backing down
We begin to feel quite sorry
For these things we just called beasts
They once were human just like us
Why not an undead feast?
We greet them all with open arms —
But by then it is too late
For no roast chicken can compare
To fresh brain on a plate
By: Allison Gems
You can do everything —
Slacker lifeguard who can’t swim
Sweet sports doctor who can’t resist
An Uptown Girl during operation
Mad scientist whose food storms
Sweep the nation.
You play Jim Carrey on Saturday Night
Turn Fear into something more than fright
But my favorite role — though you can’t be pinned —
is a suicidal Skeleton Twin.
Your love for your sister, teacher and fish
Your Halloween dress, your one shattered wish
Shining bright in the bar, dancing slow, feeling wild
Red lips and fake tits
Like when you were a child —
You cast aside the words that wound you
Slicing deep like knives
You knew what she meant
And jumped in the pool
To save one, and then two of your lives.
Rock on, Bill Hader
You’ve got the full-spectrum heart —
Invite us to laugh in the sunshine
Then prod us down into the dark.
By: Allison Gems
Here’s a stupid poem
About a stupid place
On a stupid planet
In outer space
The day has come
When aliens leave
To seek their fortunes
And sights unseen
And do our little travelers
Take spaceships? No!
They fly down rivers
On happy hippos
They soar down swamps
On alligators
They see new cars
And say, see you later!
The little ones climb on dragonflies
The elders hop on butterflies…
And as for the Alien King and Queen:
They’re in a hot pink limousine
By: Allison Gems
At night
I am sitting in the back of a bus
Staring down the dark narrow center
While shadows slide against the floor.
It’s a bumpy ride, but I feel calm —
Like something could slither next to me,
Whisper dark things in my ear,
And I would know
Exactly
What to do.
By: Allison Gems
Allison Gems 