Kind Kelpie?

Into the swamp, eyes rise.
Stream streams like a runny faucet, off his nose.
Dispersing into the atmosphere, causing the air to freeze in place.
All is still as he watches.
Water dripping down his black mane, he shakes and shuffles.
The brackish water around him spills about, sprinkling the viewers with the stink, the swamp.
Into the swamp, eyes glow white, captivating us all.
Is he malevolent, malicious as a killer?
Is he charming and compromising?
Is he trustworthy in his haunting gaze, his strong musky scent, tainted with the sitting water?
Is he as he appears?

Is he a kind kelpie?

5 responses to “Kind Kelpie?”

Woodsy

December 7, 2020 at 2:07 pm

I want one…

to ride off somewhere…
somewhere the rain goes
and
somehow never stops…
never falters or dries,
just endlessly,
needfully,
beautifully cries…

like a kelpie,
seeing mountains and sunsets
and lakes made of stars…

as seen by the heart of a kelpie
when a kelpie sees someone like me.

{Nothing like kelpie time with you, sis. Thank you.}

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1. BrittnyLee
  
  December 8, 2020 at 3:05 am
  
  You’re very welcome 🙂 my brother!!! We will continue to find our mythical creatures and let them lead us to far off places . Those crazy beings we make up become our friends like time when he passes slowly on a summer day.
  
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Scrunch Foldington

January 6, 2021 at 12:05 pm

Oh this is beautiful! And also a weird coincidence. I don’t know if I’ve told you, but one of my sisters is an artist who specializes and puppet making. Well, I recently decided to commission a puppet from her, which she is working on right now. We talked a lot about the different puppets she could make for me (she makes mythological creatures for the most part) and in the end, I asked her to make me… a kelpie! I’m going to show her this piece, and I’ll try to take a picture of the work in progress next time I’m at her house to show you.

Ok, I need to circle back because this poem is great, and like always I want to point out WHY it’s so great. 🙂 The imagery was almost tactile, you can feel the cold clammy damp of the swamp, the steaming breath and his cold wet mane… And I love the emotional ambiguity too, as it reflects that capricious nature of the faeries. Sometimes they’re nice, sometimes not.
Very original and very cool. I can’t wait to show you my puppet kelpie too!

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1. BrittnyLee
  
  January 6, 2021 at 3:44 pm
  
  Thank you so much !!!! I really tried. This piece was inspired by a book called tithe by holly black. It’s a young adult book but I’ve made a tradition to read it every fall since high school 🙂 I enjoy it so much. She writes very beautifully. I learned a lot about imagery reading her novels . I am excited to see that puppet kelpie 🙂 I’m really happy you enjoyed this because I was not sure I would do it justice. Holly just described them so eerily . I wanted to have that vibe haha
  
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  1. Scrunch Foldington
    
    January 7, 2021 at 12:36 am
    
    No worries 🙂
    
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