The Long House Ghost

The cloudless deep-blue sky.
The blazing sun burning high.
Larks fly in drunken flight pattern.
Chasing insects from their nest driven.

The long house under the canopies of fruit trees.
Farmers under heavy load bend double,
going up the ladder, steep, humble.

Inside there’re a hive of activities
Women weaving.
Children running, squealing and crying.
Breast-feeding.
Rice pounding.
Some engross picking lice.
Hunting dogs howling and prancing.
Begging their masters to go hunting.

Suddenly chaos at the far end.
Children screaming and scampering.
Seeking the security of their rooms.

As the commotion comes nearer.
What cause it, is clear.
A grotesque ghost.
Twice taller and bigger
than human is descending.
Hungry for children crying.
Red eyes bulging.
Sharp fangs baring.
Hands outstretch with razor sharp claws.
Running hither and thither, looking for kids crying.
To appease its perpetual hunger - starving!

As kids hide, trembling.
The ghost is seen to enter a house.
Behind the closed door its costumes derobe.
Satisfied his acting has achieved the desired mode.
The children are behaved now, he notes.