b l o o d
d r i p s d o w n
t h e f r o z e n
p u t r i d c a r c a s s
of the undead snowman full of maggots
the abomination feeds on nightmares
a n d c h i l d r e n's f e a r s
a n a n c i e n t
e v i l
f i e n d
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Author Notes
This week's prompt for the Little Workshop of Horrors is to write a regular and an inverted Tetractys poem together as one. The syllable count will be: 1-2-3-4-10-10-4-3-2-1. The topic will be "An Evil Snowman." You may use your own artwork.
Thanks to Marilyn Hamilton for leading this week's club event.
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What is the history of the snowman?
Snowmen were a phenomenon in the Middle Ages, built with great skill and thought. At a time of limited means of expression, snow was like free art supplies dropped from the sky. Some were created by famous artists, including a 19-year-old Michelangelo, who in 1494 was commissioned by the ruler of Florence, Italy, to sculpt a snowman in his mansion's courtyard.
Snowmen also played a part in one of the bloodiest events in early American history, the Schenectady Massacre of 1690. At the time, Fort Schenectady, in what is now upstate New York, was a remote Dutch settlement under constant threat of attack. But the soldiers guarding the gates, which were frozen, left a pair of snowmen at their post to protect the town when they left to get out of a blizzard. Unknown to them, a contingent of 210 French Canadian soldiers and Native Americans were approaching. Having traveled over three weeks in knee-deep, slushy snow, they were unfazed by the snowmen and invaded the fort, killing 60 villagers.
Every year since 1818, the people of Zurich, Switzerland, celebrate the beginning of spring by blowing up a snowman. On the third Monday of April, the holiday Sechseluten is kicked off when a cotton snowman called the Bogg is stuffed with dynamite and paraded through town by bakers, blacksmiths, and other tradesmen who throw bread and sausages to the crowds. The parade ends with the Bogg being placed on a 40-foot pile of scrap wood. After the bells of the Church of St. Peter have chimed six times, representing the passing of winter, the pile is lit. When the snowman explodes, winter is considered officially over the shorter the combustion, the longer summer is said to be.
Thank you for reading my poem,
Gypsy
The pictures from Pinterest. Presentation and Poem by Gypsy Blue Rose (c) copyright 12/3/24
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