Classic and Contemporary Poetry
THE GHOST OF DEACON BROWN, by JAMES WELDON JOHNSON Poet's Biography First Line: In a backwoods town / lived deacon brown Last Line: But the ghost is digging yet. Subject(s): Ghosts; Legends; Story-telling; Supernatural | ||||||||
In a backwoods town Lived Deacon Brown, And he was a miser old; He would trust no bank, So he dug, and sank In the ground a box of gold, Down deep in the ground a box of gold. He hid his gold, As has been told, He remembered that he did it; But sad to say, On the very next day, He forgot just where he hid it: To find his gold he tried and tried Till he grew faint and sick, and died. Then on each dark and gloomy night A form in phosphorescent white, A genuine hair-raising sight, Would wander through the town. And as it slowly roamed around, With a spade it dug each foot of ground; So the folks about Said there was no doubt 'Twas the ghost of Deacon Brown. Around the church This Ghost would search, And whenever it would see The passers-by Take wings and fly It would laugh in ghostly glee, Hee, hee!it would laugh in ghostly glee. And so the town Went quickly down, For they said that it was haunted; And doors and gates, So the story states, Bore a notice, "Tenants wanted." And the town is now for let, But the ghost is digging yet. | Other Poems of Interest...WHITE NOCTURNE by CONRAD AIKEN IN THE EVENINGS by LUCILLE CLIFTON THE MOTHS: 1. CIRCA 1582 by NORMAN DUBIE GHOSTS IN ENGLAND by ROBINSON JEFFERS EN PASSANT by EDWIN ARLINGTON ROBINSON |
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