Will-O’-the-wisp
I watch, I wait
In grim delight
For weary travellers
In the night
I do not care
From whence they came
I only seek
To play my game
✨
I listen out
For distant sounds
Hoofbeats or footfall
On the ground
I hover silent
As the grave
To snatch the souls
Of Lord or knave
✨
I sniff the air
And dance in glee
My quarry draws
Now close to me
When I am certain
That they are near
My strength increases
With their fear
✨
I sense confusion
Which way to go?
I know my lantern
Now must glow
My luminescence
Flickers bright
Come hither, quickly!
Trust my light!
✨
I taste success
Yet need not shout
This foolish flame
Will flicker out
Bereft of guidance
Each soul now lies
In swampy darkness
All doomed to die
I remember this folktale and being told some version of it in my childhood. But this poem is just wonderful, Trudi, and has a great narrative flow.
Fascinating, I had no idea what a Will-O’-the-wisp was, so I read the poem as a riddle, in the first person, asking "what am I?" So I found it puzzling and very engaging because I didn't know the answer even though it is in the title. haha.