Related quotes: They found her in the...

At the bottom of the Stairs

They found her in the darkness

at the bottom of the stairs

She had, for some time, lived alone

-three days she had lain there.

Her skin was clammy to the touch,

pulse irregular and weak.

In and out of consciousness

She’d drift, but could not speak.

The nine eleven call was made

And the paramedics. arrived

Hours later we got the call:

Granny Jo had not survived.

I’m staying at her house now

As we sort things out for sale.

I’ve kept busy painting rooms.

and I’ve installed a new hand rail.

Some strange things have been happening;

my cat hissing at unseen specters.

of whom I'm unaware.

a door that opens of itself

a slowly rocking chair.

At night this old house whispers and moans,

Pipes bang and stair treads creak.

Especially on a rainy night

I find it hard to sleep.

Staying here at night alone

There’s one place I won’t go.

I avoid the basement steps.

where Dad found Granny Jo.

Sometime when I pass that door

I hear faint muttering there

Evil waits in the darkness

at the bottom of the stairs….

poem by John F. McCullagh
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Related quotes

Old Granny Sullivan

A pleasant shady place it is, a pleasant place and cool -
The township folk go up and down, the children pass to school.
Along the river lies my world, a dear sweet world to me:
I sit and learn - I cannot go; there is so much to see.

But Granny she has seen the world, and often by her side
I sit and listen while she speaks of youthful days of pride;
Old Granny's hands are clasped; she wears her favourite faded shawl -
I ask her this, I ask her that: she says, 'I mind it all.'

The boys and girls that Granny knew, far o'er the seas are they,
But there's no love like the old love, and the old world far away;
Her talk is all of wakes and fairs - or how, when night would fall,
''Twas many a quare thing crept and came,' and Granny 'minds them all.'

The day she first met Sullivan - she tells it all to me -
How she was hardly twenty-one and he was twenty-three.
The courting days! the kissing days! - but bitter things befall
The bravest hearts that plan and dream. Old Granny 'minds it all.'

Her wedding-dress I know by heart; yes! every flounce and frill;
And the little home they lived in first, with the garden on the hill.
'Twas there her baby boy was born; and neighbours came to call,
But none had seen a boy like Jim - and Granny 'minds it all.'

They had their fights in those old days; but Sullivan was strong,
A smart quick man at anything; 'twas hard to put him wrong…
One day they brought him from the mine… (The big salt tears will fall)…
''Twas long ago, God rest his soul!' Poor Granny 'minds it all.'

The first dark days of widowhood, the weary days and slow,
The grim, disheartening, uphill fight, then Granny lived to know.
'The childer,' ah! they grew and grew - sound, rosy-cheeked and tall:
'The childer' still they are to her. Old Granny 'minds them all.'

How well she loved her little brood! Oh, Granny's heart was brave!
She gave to them her love and faith - all that the good God have.
They change not with the changing years; as babies just the same
She feels for them, though some, alas! have brought her grief and shame:

The big world called them here and there, and many a mile away:
They cannot come - she cannot go - the darkness haunts the day;
And I, no flesh and blood of hers, sit here while shadows fall -
I sit and listen - Granny talks; for Granny 'minds them all.'

Just fancy Granny Sullivan at seventeen or so,
In all the floating fin

poem by John Shaw Neilson
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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One God shining in a miillion ways

they say god is one
and he is everywhere

he found him in his kitchen
and calls him his Kitchen God
praying to him night and day
for enough food on his table

some found him in the field
and call him their rice god
praying to him every season
to be blessed with food for the family

some women found him at the door
and call him their door god
praying to him each morning
for safety of the house

some found him in the mountain
and call him the mountain god
praying to him day and night
to bless their ancestors' spirits
they think dwell with Him there

another found him at sea
and call him the sea god
praying to him day and night
so that he could catch enough
of fishes to make his day

each of us looks and finds god
in some ways, calling him
our own god, in our own way
- the god that answers every
earnest call for his blessings
at the door, in the field, at sea
.....everywhere....

poem by John Tiong Chunghoo
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The Vagabonder

it is a long trail
it rains so hard
you are wet and you come
upon a home of an
abandoned house to shelter
you finally
amid the tall trees
and wild grass
and darkness

the house has
a door which is closed
and a window
without light

you try taking the stairs
but the snake is there first
and it has become its
territory

it is tiring
the night is deep
the rain falls so hard
you are cold
but by then you have to
move some more
to find
time
whether it holds
a place for you
whether luck
is near
whether life still
cares.

poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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