The Ladies of Horror
Coast of Gold
by Lori R. Lopez
Men have long scoured the lands and seas
For an elusive mineral, a glittering ore
That succumbs the strongest to its foul disease,
And would dash them upon its forsaken shore.
The legend was whispered from ear to ear
Of a cove where the glimmer of gold did blind
The fools who dared aim their sails too near —
Then smashed into rocks; a spectacular find!
Their bones litter sand that wickedly shines,
A gilded gleam as could make men weep.
If only they avoided its sharp water-mines,
Guarding the coast like cannons of a keep …
With edges that’ll cleave and sunder a ship,
Split and scuttle its hull in a wily flash.
Boulders of gold that might steal a man’s grip,
While shifting and lunging to carve a gash.
The ghosts of drowned sailors haunt its brink,
Pacing and grumbling, cursing ill luck —
To spend an eternity surrounded by a drink
Of molten treasure; in its vessel stuck.
Marooned by the lure of nuggets and dust,
A miserable fortune that sickened lost souls.
Pining and mourning, regretting their trust
In a wayward voyage with Midas goals.
Turn rudders away from that yellow sheen:
The tint of great riches; a majestic hue!
Never heed the call of the Siren Queen,
Lest the fate of many should happen to you.
Spirits wait to embrace the next sorry lot
Of feverish seekers with stars in their eyes,
Headed for a Gold Coast of wreckage and rot,
Where they will be in for a morbid surprise.
One crew of specters, another of bones;
Daggers and cutlasses raised for a charge.
These merciless deadmen, a band of unknowns,
Will murder the rats who survive by and large.
Fiction © Copyright Lori R. Lopez
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com
More from Lori R. Lopez:
Leery Lane
Have you ever kept a secret from even yourself? On one rainless electric night, Frieda Noff will learn the truth about her past, her relationship with her sister, and her hometown’s darkest secrets. It is All Hallows again, twenty years after she went down that fateful gauntlet of haunted houses as a Trick-Or-Treater. She’s finally back, perhaps to stay this time.
A young woman is confronted by the ghosts of her demons when she must return to Leery Lane, the dead-end where she lost an important piece in the puzzle of her past. She and her sibling haven’t spoken in two decades, since that terrible Halloween when Frieda borrowed something that belonged to Francine without permission. She feels that she needs to remember what it was and find the object of contention, somewhere in a row of decrepit Victorians, to repair the rift between sisters. But some secrets are better left buried. A witty blend of Gothic Horror, Humor, Supernatural and Mystery, Leery Lane is a ghost story to curl up with and savor. Take a walk you won’t be able to forget on the creepy side of town . . .
Look for an Illustrated Print Edition with macabre artwork by the author!
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Spreading the Writer's Word 
A darkly chilling poem; I loved it.