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Here’s a bit of a different offering for Short Story Saturday. For one thing, it’s a poem, and not a short story. For another, it’s an excerpt from Horror Bites: NGHW Editor’s Pick.
HorrorAddicts.net is continuing their Horror Bites series with a bundle of new fiction from their Next Great Horror Writer Contestants. In addition to the authors listed below in the “About Horror Bites” section, it also contains an introduction from the HorrorAddicts.net Horror Hostess herself, Emerian Rich.
Emz is a friend of mine. She asked if I could post something for their Book Release Blog Tour. I said, “You bet. As long as you’re okay with it being on a Saturday.”
So here we are.
Please enjoy this poem by Riley J. Pierce from the Horror Bites collection.
Siren’s Song
Through crashing waves and dying light,
I fight, I fight, I fight the night.
Many begged to turn away,
But on this final course, I stay.
The siren sings again tonight,
And so I wait until I might,
Find her perched upon the rocks,
With eyes of red, and golden locks.
She’ll sing her song, but just to me.
I’ll belong to both her and the sea.
My crew, at last, they hear her song,
And I’ll be hers before too long.
Mystic music through the air.
It moves like wind and lingers there.
It seeps into their ears, my crew.
Yes! My god! The tales are true.
The moon is up, it pulls the tide,
And our wooden ship from side to side.
The wind has blown, all light is gone.
This ship will not survive the dawn.
A sacrifice to her, I bring,
Shall earn me last to see her sing.
It’s finally here, and all is black,
Save for the moon, old silver back.
Her song has spellbound every soul,
Their very lives are but a toll.
They’ve stopped all tasks, and wait to find,
The creature whom the gods designed.
Tears are shed, they know deep down,
That only death comes from this sound.
The only comfort to their end,
Is being among such loyal men.
A strong wave hits the starboard bow,
My old heart yearns to fill my vow…
To read more, click here.
About the Author
Riley J. Pierce lives in Wisconsin with her family, and her growing collection of books. Always fascinated by horror and science fiction, she finds inspiration for the macabre everywhere. When she’s not writing, she can be found binge-watching the latest horror film alone in the dark.
About Horror Bites
HorrorAddicts.net is proud to present our top 14 contestants in the Next Great Horror Writer Contest. The included stories, scripts, and poems are the result of the hard work and dedication these fine writers put forth to win a book contract. Some learned they loved writing and want to pursue it as a career for the rest of their lives. Some discovered they should change careers either to a different genre of writing or to a new career entirely. Whatever lessons came along the way, they each learned something about themselves and grew as writers. We hope you enjoy the writing as much as we did.
It features work by:
- Jonathan Fortin
- Naching T. Kassa
- Daphne Strasert
- Jess Landry
- Harry Husbands
- Sumiko Saulson
- Adele Marie Park
- Feind Gottes
- JC Martínez
- Cat Voleur
- Abi Kirk-Thomas
- Timothy G. Huguenin
- Riley Pierce
- Quentin Norris
Courtney Mroch is a globe-trotting restless spirit who’s both possessed by wanderlust and the spirit of adventure, as well as obsessed with true crime, horror, the paranormal, and weird days. Perhaps it has something to do with her genes? She is related to occult royalty, after all. Marie Laveau, the famous Voodoo practitioner of New Orleans, is one of her ancestors. That could also explain her infatuation with skeletons.
Speaking of healing, to learn how she channeled her battle with cancer to conjure up this site, check out HJ’s Origin Story.
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Ancient terror await doomed sailors drawn by song. Cool stuff!
Thank you! I love this poem!
Thank YOU for letting HJ be part of your blog tour with it!