A wraith is a spirit with unfinished business, whose body has not necessarily completely died. A somewhat premature ghost.

There still so much I want to do
My life is through, but I am trapped
Here, racked with agony, in bed.

I’m not yet dead, but pretty close
Who knows when I will be released
Or if, at least, I’ll still be here

To strike fear into all the hearts
Of those who wronged me in this life
Who caused me strife? I want revenge.

My soul unhinges, pulls away
I will not stay and wait to die
I’ll say goodbye before I go.

You know exactly who you are,
The harm you caused. You think that I,
Because I’m dying, will forget?

Oh no, not yet.

I am the goddess of the hidden realm
And who says that a god can’t be a monster?
I’m Loki’s child, and no blood of the Aesir,
Nor of the Vanir, runs within my veins
No, I am not divine, and yet I reign.
My brothers fared less well: exiled or bound
But I was just a girl: no threat to Odin!
He saw my good side: beautiful, demure,
And asked me what I wanted. So I told him
“I want to be the queen of all the dead
Who don’t go to Valhalla. Those who died
What you would call dishonourable deaths
Who did not die in battle, but in bed
Of old age, sickness, even accident
They too deserve someone to take their side
And I would rule them fairly, if you’d let me
Give me a place that’s hidden from your sight
If they offend you. Let me be their queen.”
He granted my request, all graciousness
And bounty, but I saw the way he smiled.
What could she do, this pretty little girl
I turned to face him fully, and he saw
A side of me that chilled him to the marrow
But in the end, a god must keep his word
And so, unseen, I rule over my people
I have no hate for Odin and his kind.
My brothers want revenge? Then let them take it:
The heat of battle doesn’t interest me.
So keep your Ragnarok. I’ll stay down here
And welcome those who never killed another.
I do my job. I think I do it well.
Do not believe all that you’ve heard of Hel.

I am the middle child born of chaos.
A serpent big enough to threaten gods.
Exiled by Odin, thrown into the ocean.
I chase my tail around your little world
And wait for Ragnarok, when I will rise
And eat the god who’s plagued me all my life:
The thunder god, who hunts me, tries his best
To drag me out and slay me. What have I
So deep under the water, done to him?
I’m Loki’s son, but I am not my father
His quarrels with the gods are his alone
But Thor has made an enemy of me
And he’ll come to regret it, in good time.

What I like to do when I’m bored is float.
Like an iceberg, with most of me under the surface,
And only the top of my head sticking out,
Near a ship, and just wait for the sailors to notice

At first they’re suprised and uneasy to learn
That they must be off course, though they can’t think why
And just as they’re all getting really concerned
I wait till they’re watching, and open my eye.

What a paradigm shift! What a change in perspective!
The “island” they saw is a part of my head!
It’s easy to do, but extremely effective
Though sometimes I do something else instead:

I wait till it’s dark, and they’re most of them sleeping,
With one left behind keeping watch in the night
Then I swim underneath, send my tentacles creeping
Around the whole ship, just to give him a fright

Soon the whole crew’s awake, since there’s somebody screaming
Of tentacles, each one as tall as a tree!
And they curse him and tell him he must have been dreaming
About some huge monster that no-one can see.

So I’ll wait a few days, till they’ve nearly forgotten
Then rise up and let them all get a good view!
They go crazy with fright (Oh I know, aren’t I rotten!)
It keeps me amused though. It’s something to do.

Now, though some might say that my empathy’s lackin’
I’m helping by scaring them out of their skin:
They get stories to tell of the terrible kraken
They fought off so bravely! It’s really win-win!

The Jarjacha, according to Peruvian myth, is a human who has been cursed because they have committed incest.

I’m not a human anymore.
I don’t know when the change occurred
Something, that happened long before
These urges deep within me stirred

Perhaps. Perhaps I always had
The monster deep inside my soul
And I was destined to be bad
It’s not my fault, it’s just my role.

But in the end, I know I chose
To break the worst taboo. To sin,
And God will always punish those
Who couple with their closest kin.

You’d never know, to look at me
By day, I look like anyone
At night it is my fate to be
As hideous as what I’ve done

I walk on tender, fleshy feet
Stay out of sight, avoid the glares.
I hunt for innocents to eat
And cleanse my soul, consuming theirs.

There is a way to hold me back:
Hold up a mirror, let me see
Myself, and then I won’t attack.
Appalled by what I am, I’ll flee.

Daddy was an alligator
Mama was a chimp
And whatever else you say about her
Mama weren’t no wimp.
She used to be a circus gal
Until she ran away
Found daddy in the swamp
And then decided she would stay

Now I don’t like to talk about
The way that I was made
But most of the particulars
You’ve hit on, I’m afraid
But Daddy loved my Mama
And my Mama loved him too
And in the face of romance
Well, what are you gonna do?

But I ain’t no alligator,
Nor am I a chimpanzee
And there’s never been a critter
That’s as frightening as me
I’m strong, I’m fast, I’m clever
I could snap you like a twig
And if I joined the circus,
I could really make it big.

But my Mama told me stories
‘Bout the life she left behind
The chains, the whips the cages
Hey, I’m not out of my mind!
I’ll never let ’em catch me
But I’ll own, I sometimes dream
Of the glamour of the spotlight:
Oh my lord, I’d make you scream!

I heard they made a comic book
About a fearsome beast
That lives deep within the Bayou swamp:
They might have asked, at least!
And they got so many details wrong,
I almost found it funny
But my name was never “Swamp Thing”,
That’s ridiculous: I’m Honey!

Although you cannot see me
I’m right here, at your side.
There is no point in running.
There is no need to hide.

For I am always waiting.
I’m faithful, never fear:
I’ll stick with you through thick and thin,
I’ll always be right here.

At least, until you’re bigger,
For then I’ll leave you be:
I’m never friends with grown ups, they
Do not believe in me.

But you know that I’m with you,
Just waiting for the time
That you decide to risk it and
Commit some minor crime.

Some people say I’ll eat you:
But they, my dear, are fools
And though it seems ironic, I
Do have to follow rules.

We cannot take the children
Who do as they are told:
Those are the poor unfortunates
That we must let grow old.

But once you have been naughty
I’ll spirit you away
To somewhere far away from here
Where you and I can play.

This sunny dream of childhood
It never has to end.
Just disobey the grown-ups’ rules
And let me be your friend.

When hiking the Simonside hills, come prepared.
Wear boots of stout leather and thick woollen socks
And a waterproof jacket. Bring plenty of food
Kendal Mint Cake, perhaps, or some chocolate at least.

These precautions will do you no good whatsoever:
It’s just that you may as well bring something useful.
We’re going to get you, whatever you do
We will lead you astray, and we’ll take what we want.

For we are the duergar, the dvergar, the dwarves
And we came here in stories, in ships from the north
Where our ancestors once forged incredible things
For the gods, and brewed mead from the blood of the wise.

That was long, long ago, and we don’t have the skills
To create what we need any more, so we take
Anything we can get from the humans who come here
To walk, unaware, through the heather and gorse.

So when hiking the Simonside hills, come prepared.
We always need leather, and waterproof coats!
When we lead you astray, at least make it worthwhile.
We like Kendal Mint Cake. Bring plenty of that.

Listen to #100MonstrousPoems 92: Duergar by Sez Thomasin on #SoundCloud
https://soundcloud.app.goo.gl/tFoNZ

We hide inside your aeroplanes
And do all kinds of things
Like loosening the nuts and bolts
And rusting up the wings
And you should see your faces
When your silly bombs get stuck!
You want an easy time of it?
Well then, you’re out of luck.

Don’t take this the wrong way, old chaps,
We don’t care if you lose
This bally war you’re fighting in
But we don’t pick and choose:
We’re equal opportunity,
And vex old Jerry, too!
We’re not exactly helpful,
But we have no beef with you.

Perhaps you think we’re pacifists,
And trying to stop the war.
We do not really understand
What you are fighting for,
But this is not political:
When all is said and done,
We just like breaking aeroplanes
Because we think it’s fun.

Listen to #100MonstrousPoems 91: Gremlin by Sez Thomasin on #SoundCloud
https://soundcloud.app.goo.gl/3hJQH

I was fierce and I was threatening, with spiky outer shell and poison breath
And I made sure that the humans knew, to mess with me is always certain death.
I knew that they outnumbered me so it seemed wise to have a reputation
For viciousness and deadliness, to keep them far away from my location

But humans, I have very often found, cannot leave well enough alone.
They decided that to make me meek and docile I must straight away be shown
The way, the truth, the light, the love of Jesus, yes I must be brought to Christ
So a woman called Saint Martha came to see me, and I thought she seemed quite nice.

She told me about God, who cares about us and is watching from above
And his son who died to save us, and she said the greatest quality was love.
And the meek, she said, were blessed: I’d be happy if I’d only live in peace
With the Christian folk around me, and I really should consider it at least.

And I thought “well maybe humans aren’t so bad, if this is what they all believe,
All this charity and kindness, maybe I should go among them and receive
Their affection and their blessings, I should call them all my brothers and my friends.”
I’m afraid you can imagine just exactly how this tragic story ends

Martha led me into town upon a leash and everybody gathered there.
And I stood and waited quietly and meekly for their blessing in the square.
But instead of benedictions, they threw rocks at me, and killed me where I stood.
That’s what happens to a monster who believes, for once, that people can be good.