For the Halloween season, have one of my favorite poems. I do not like to be scared, but there is something in mystery and a chilling thrill that I have always loved. This piece walks that line as well as anything I have ever read. Enjoy!
Picture by Patrick Garrington on Public Domain Pictures
The Listeners
by Walter de la Mare (1873–1956)
‘Is there anybody there?’ said the Traveller,Knocking on the moonlit door;And his horse in the silence champed the grassesOf the forest’s ferny floor:And a bird flew up out of the turret,Above the Traveller’s head:And he smote upon the door again a second time;‘Is there anybody there?’ he said.But no one descended to the Traveller;No head from the leaf-fringed sillLeaned over and looked into his grey eyes,Where he stood perplexed and still.But only a host of phantom listenersThat dwelt in the lone house thenStood listening in the quiet of the moonlightTo that voice from the world of men:Stood thronging the faint moonbeams on the dark stair,That goes down to the empty hall,Hearkening in an air stirred and shakenBy the lonely Traveller’s call.And he felt in his heart their strangeness,Their stillness answering his cry,While his horse moved, cropping the dark turf,’Neath the starred and leafy sky;For he suddenly smote on the door, evenLouder, and lifted his head:—‘Tell them I came, and no one answered,That I kept my word,’ he said.Never the least stir made the listeners,Though every word he spakeFell echoing through the shadowiness of the still houseFrom the one man left awake:Ay, they heard his foot upon the stirrup,And the sound of iron on stone,And how the silence surged softly backward,When the plunging hoofs were gone..
P.S. This is my 100th blog post! Blue Blistering Barnacles!
October 29th, 2013 at 11:38 am
I remember this from childhood! I always thought it should be read in whispers. I’m printing it to read to my son.
October 29th, 2013 at 11:42 am
Oh, how that pleases me! The next generation gets to enjoy the atmosphere of this poem. I hope he enjoys it.
I am not sure when I first encountered it, but I recall that it was in a collection of poems called “The Classic 100” that was a textbook in one of my Literature classes. It was love at first read.
October 29th, 2013 at 12:17 pm
Love this poem.
October 29th, 2013 at 12:19 pm
One of many literary finds I owe to you. I may have thanked you for this before, but thank you for reading to us when we were growing up.
November 1st, 2013 at 4:20 pm
Blistering barnacles, indeed! Bravo! I’d forgotten all about Walter de la Mare, jeese. How could I? Great creepy poem!
November 1st, 2013 at 5:17 pm
Isn’t it, though? Just the right amount of creepy to brighten my day.
Thank you for stopping by!
November 9th, 2013 at 1:21 pm
I remember this one from childhood too. It was always my favorite piece by De La Mare. So full of unresolved mystery.
November 9th, 2013 at 5:06 pm
Yes. It’s not pushy, just full of atmosphere. :)
June 18th, 2014 at 11:02 am
[…] is a tough one for me. You already have my favorite ghost poem, so I must think of something else. I am very fond of several E. A. Poe stories and of some of the […]
October 29th, 2014 at 12:20 pm
[…] horrible dream. If you want more, or something different, here is my favorite spooky poem: https://jubilare.wordpress.com/2013/10/29/the-listeners/ and a spooky poem that I actually wrote: https://jubilare.wordpress.com/2012/06/15/gothic-galatea/ […]
November 4th, 2014 at 6:58 pm
Oh, that was a good read! Chilling indeed. And congrats on the big 1-0-0!
November 4th, 2014 at 8:33 pm
Isn’t it, though? It’s surprisingly tough to find things that run along that edge between pleasantly eerie and down-right creepy.
Thanks!
November 25th, 2014 at 9:03 pm
A great one! I think I did read this before, but had forgotten most of it. He kept his word…but what was theirs?
November 25th, 2014 at 9:04 pm
P.S. That’s a rhetorical question, by the way. Pondering the answer is the fun of the poem!
November 26th, 2014 at 6:22 am
I guessed as much. ;)
My rhetorical question is, what happened to them? Perhaps he kept his promise, but too late…