The Ballad Of Sleepy Hollow

Based on “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” by Washington Erving
Special thanks to Montrealpoet for running the folklore challenge which prompted this write. 

There is a place by Tarry Town
Where dreams engulf the sky
They say a curse or spell once passed
Entrances every eye.
They tell the tale of man or ghost
Sequestered on a horse,
A headless fiend who stalks the night
With wrath and no remorse.
A schoolmaster dwelled in this town
Named Ichabod Crane,
Was as his feathered cognomen
Quite lank and somewhat vain.
Still well refined and elegant,
Didactic and well learned,
A connoisseur of song and dance,
loved when his belly churned.
Katrina Tussel was her name
The gem of Sleepy Hollow,
Plump to perfection, sweet coquette
Made every bachelor follow.
Of all her gracious qualities,
Which shocked awake his nerves,
Crane loved her father’s wealth before
Her laugh or shapely curves.
But tragedy begat a name
And till this day bemoans,
For in Crane’s way there stood a foe
The one they call Brom Bones.
A man renowned across the land
For gallant feats of might,
Though good at heart despite his love
For mischief and to fight.
While basking in the spotlight of
their courtship and desire
She flirted with both men and thus
Enraged a baneful fire.
Brom Bones set forth uncouthly
To deter the docile Crane,
Attacking him with jokes and tricks
To steer a man insane.
He vandalized Crane’s school house first
Then brought his howling cur,
To recommend he replace Crane
As singing instructor.
But Crane refused to break his stead,
Held to the skies his beak,
Inspired by the wealth of love,
Verbatim and oblique.
Then fearsome fate displayed her might
And sent an invitation,
A bustling party at Kat’s house
A chance for Crane’s salvation.
And in his best (and only suit)
Crane put forth on display,
The talents of his dancing skills
And courting the buffet.
As Kat and Crane began their dance
To tunes of jealous moans,
The loudest and the angriest
Belonging to Brom Bones.
The air was laden with romance
As guests began to crowd,
To hear of lurid tales of terror
And headless horseman’s route.
The bash began to evanesce
But Crane remained behind,
To woo Katrina privately
Or speak some piece of mind.
Of what transpired we do not know
But its effects were clear,
As Crane rode off into the night
His visage carved in sneer.
The night was thick with darkness
As poor Crane began the ride,
His mind projecting terror tales
Which made him want to hide.
As Crane engaged in whistling
To sooth his shaking nerves,
His mangy horse stopped suddenly
And froze as if by curse.
Before them loomed a silhouette:
Man on a sable horse,
“who are you?” pled Crane’s shaking voice
To silence grim and coarse.
So nervously Crane headed on
While singing out of fear,
But through the blackness heard the sounds
Of hoof beats drawing near.
As all attempts to lose this being
Proved futile and in vain,
The singing too began to cease-
Throat parched by fear and bane.
Crane eyed the apparition in
relief against the sky,
Fierce fright shot through so cold and sharp
He thought he’d surely die.
The ghastly contour of this man
Would fill all eyes with dread,
The truncated equestrian
Was holding his own head!
A morbid panic fueled the scene
As hoofs began to pound,
The ghastly fiend then threw his head
At Crane who hit the ground.
As morning crept the horse was found,
No rider in his place,
The woods were searched but Crane was gone
And leaving not a trace.
A bachelor with no debt was Crane
So worries swiftly parried
And drowned into the seas of time
While Brom and Kat got married.
Some say Crane moved and lives quite well
And found a second chance,
Though every time Crane’s name comes up
Brom shoots a knowing glance.
While others think he left of shame
Or captured by the ghost
Though all this lives through folklore now
Since most real facts were lost.

gene16180

My muse can be unseemly and nomadic although she fancies meter and good rhyme, her diligence and output are sporadic, and some may say she’s moving past her prime. At times she’s off consorting with the sages reflecting on existence, as it were, At...

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