Monday, October 23, 2017

DMC: "relative distance" by Tabatha Yeatts




relative distance

distance is farther
in the dark.

mom and dad
downstairs
watching tv in a
  lit room

are a light year away
from awake me
upstairs in bed in a
  dark room.

if someone or something
that doesn't fear
the dark is up here
  with me,

the quickest way
to close this giant
ghostly gap might be a
  scream.


© 2017 Tabatha Yeatts. All rights reserved.


Click HERE to read this month's interview with Carrie Clickard. Her DMC challenge is to write a poem about a person, place, or thing that spooked you as a child.

Post your poem on our October 2017 padlet. While some contributions will be featured as daily ditties this month, all contributions will be included in a wrap-up celebration this Friday, October 27th, and one lucky participant will win a personalized copy of her enchanting new picture book from Holiday House:






10 comments:

  1. Such a great take on this challenge, Tabatha! Concept and execution... even down to the oh-so-clever double meaning of "relative" in your title!

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  2. This totally captures a young child's nighttime fears, Tabatha--especially love that first stanza, the title, the dark and light contrasts. And yep, a scream will do it!

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  3. Thanks, all! A great Halloween challenge for us, Carrie, revisiting those things that made us quiver.

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  4. So much clever wordplay in this poem, Tabatha! I've felt "a light year away" from my parents watching TV downstairs, too. =)

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  5. You've just told the story of one granddaughter when I kept them a few weeks ago. She wanted me to stay in the next bedroom so she could hear the click-clack of the computer. Downstairs was just too far. Beautifully written, Tabatha.

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  6. wonderful disruption and love the ending

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  7. Absolutely bone-chilling. And very clever. Thanks for the poem and the shivers.

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  8. Love this, for the comfort that always came after the shriek!

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  9. I hear the scream coming… Thanks for your chilling poem Tabatha, I like the back and forth play between upstairs and downstairs!

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