Morpheus and the Noisy Manticore
Poetry by Mitchell Batavia
Artwork by Mitchell Batavia
Morpheus, a frightened boy, mostly played alone.
Afraid of noise and strangers, he seldom left his home.
But what he feared most of all, was when he went to sleep.
After crawling into bed, he’d cower, shake and weep.
Once Morpheus fell asleep, he’d have a dreadful dream.
A Manticore loomed over him and uttered an eerie scream.
With a lion’s mane, a scorpion’s tail, and a human head,
the monster sported bat-like wings and jagged teeth that shred.
But strangest were the noises that bellowed from this beast.
Its belly rumbled, growled, gurgled, sloshed, and even screeched.
Morpheus went to doctors to overcome his fright.
But none of them could calm the boy to remedy his plight.
A village sage saw the boy and offered a magic charm.
He said, “This precious amulet will shield you from any harm.”
That night Morpheus dozed off and had that same bad dream.
The Manticore loomed over him, but now he had a scheme.
He stared the monster in the eye and rubbed his magic charm.
And in a fleeting instant, the Manticore was gone.
Morpheus felt safe at last and slept throughout the night.
From that time on the boy knew that he would be alright.
But as time passed, the boy grew sad and yearned for company.
”While the monster seemed frightening,” he thought, “perhaps it was just hungry.”
So that night Morpheus summoned the Manticore to his dreams.
And when the creature reappeared, he hatched a brand-new scheme.
He thought about his favorite treats to feed the hungry beast.
and when he stroked his amulet, what appeared was an amazing feast!
The two talked and laughed and played and ate well into the night,
and giggled and romped and joked until the first rays of daylight.
And the noisy growl, gurgle and slosh, screech, rumble and roar,
bellowed from the noisy belly of this beast no more.
Mitchell Batavia is a New Yorker and educator in the healthcare arena. In addition to his published poem, he has authored flash fiction, editorial cartoons, journal articles, and several healthcare textbooks.
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