there is a haunted house that has lost the bones it came from. its bare flesh glows like a ghost, exposed in a city that calls it a curse. an abomination. in defiance, or maybe embarrassment, it leans into its shadow. lets the trees swallow it. like an empty shell or some other kind of keepsake with no one to claim it, it gets lost in itself.
there is a haunted house that does not belong. can a home be a vagabond? sunkissed roof reaching for the sky. it is a tragedy, to bear rooms bleeding with emptiness. made for memories but making none. it's a sore thumb sticking out in the skyline. it’s a callus: a swollen spot in the soil, walls peeling like skin. yet its doors can’t open if no one knocks. so it sits. waits. wonders. wants.
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125,005 Literary Works • 672,795 Reviews
This poem made me feel bad for a haunted house:( is it really haunted or just lonely and sad with a need of comfort knowing someone wants to live in it. How you described the house and how it’s degrading as time consumes it and as people continue to let it rot, its longing for memories to be made in rooms of itself, just waiting until someone knocks, genuinely an amazing poem, I would love to know what or if you had any inspiration to write this poem!
Hi, Phantasm! I’ve thought that I should review this wonderful piece of poetry, and oh boy do I have a lot to talk about. Let’s dive in shall we?
First Impression
You’re writing is so unique and beautiful! The piece immediately reminded me of Monster house and the way you expressed a house as a living, dynamic thing is fresh and wonderfully executed.
Analyzing the Poetry
The writing is unique yet feels like poetry in it’s most barebone form: expressing and describing things creatively. Your way of humanizing a house and giving it a personality is really creative and admirable. (Also had no idea what vagabond was but what a cool word lol)
This also feels like it’s leading into social commentary where this person (it’s a house but whatever) is socially outcast and he reacts to it by acting like how others treat it.
All in All
I enjoyed your poetry and i can’t believe i’ve not seen you around. happy writing (and beautiful pfp btw)!
phantasm! i've missed your beautiful poetry!
your voice has this ability to make everything sound tragic. like deep in your soul, crushing, painfully tragic. it withholds more than it lets on. this poem exists on many different levels. it is an atmospheric vignette, a meditation on abandonment and belonging, and a character study of a place. there is still the fact that so much is untold no matter which way you spin it. the overarching theme i am picking up on is like unfulfilled purpose, maybe.
see, this reiterates what i was saying. the house exists on a level that is unfathomable, even to itself. the "haunting" is more existential than it is genuinely supernatural. that was expected in a way. (though, i guess it is supernatural in a poetic way; homes are meant to contain life, but this one decays without it to the point it becomes aware of what's happening. neat stuff.)
this is the turning point for me!
the home here becomes a paradox, a structure meant for permanence that is now homeless. i think this theme mirrors feelings of alienation whether that is personal, cultural, or even architectural (a relic of a past style in a modern skyline). there is a sense of shame in that too. the house, aware of its alienation, is visibly uncomfortable. that is such a powerful metaphor! it is not truly monstrous, but it has been called it. therefore, maybe it is.
the language in reference to that is powerful (peeling skin/swollen soil/bare flesh), but perhaps you're doubling down on it too much. there are other sensory textures to explore. like maybe wood rot, rust, mildew, dust. these can expand the house’s physicality without leaning too hard on human flesh imagery, unless that’s intentional for the discomfort. i think that it can get too repetitive though, especially because i know how strong your writing style is.
STUNNING ending!
it isn't just eerie, but also profoundly human. when you strip it of the poetic nuances and all of the metaphor, it is a really painful allusion to emotion and feelings of "otherness." and of course, that raises questions. can something be haunted if no one ever lived there? can a place remember things that never happened? these aren't answered, but they set the scene for what lies beyond.
i really do love this. every image is pathological, imposed onto the reader. love that.
best,
milkweed