Saturday, May 4, 2013

The Nickel


Deep in the mines
Where copper can’t be found
Lives a breed of Goblin

Deep in the mines
The color of the rocks confuse
A mischievous breed of Goblin

Deep in the mines
The Nickel won’t find
Any bits of copper

Deep in the mines
Without copper to claim
The nickel creates its mischief

Deep in the mines
Miners may find
Misfortunes, sometimes-deadly misfortunes

Even though no copper could be found
Townsfolk blame the miner’s woes
Upon Goblins, Goblins called the Nickel


According to German Folklore, the Nickel is a Goblin that inhabit the mines where copper was thought to be in abundance.  Yet once they realize the've been duped by the color of the rocks, the Nickel is said to cause misfortune to the miners there.

Stop on by Poetics over at D'Verse, where I'll be hosting an evening of Creatures from Mythology, Folklore and Fairy Tales. Stop by to read or even better, share in on the fun by composing your own poem about creatures.

21 comments:

  1. GIVES A SAD TONE FOR MINERS, DESCRIBED WELL.

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  2. the lyrical nature of your verse is very haunting fred...great story telling through it...and i like your pairing of nickle and copper as well, ha...again the roots in reality def add to the menace of some myths...

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  3. a great one... had never heard about that creature.

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  4. very interesting...never heard about that story...the repetition of deep in the mines creates great suspence and works very effectively

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  5. I like the repetition of "deep in the mines"...adds emphasis to how important the mines were to the miners and Nickel. Towns were centered around the mines, providing all the labor. Never heard of the Nickel before. Cool, a new goblin in the family.

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  6. You have created such an eerie tone - forbidding - had never heard of this breed of goblin - very cool! K

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  7. How interesting Fred ~ I like the twist and repetition of the verses ~ We all have to blame someone for our woes, right ~ Good prompt and thanks for the challenge ~

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  8. You had me at Goblin. Nice word weaving, and tricky use of verse & legend. Very enjoyable; thanks.

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  9. Hmm... that's new to me. The repitition works well here, Fred. Thanks for a wonderful prompt at dVerse.

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  10. That's an interesting one I'd never heard of. There's obviously a grain of truth in the myth, and you showed it so well.

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  11. That is fantastic, what a way to weave the mythological challenge with your own persona namesake. And a provocative one, too, about nickel in copper. As I said, your verse made me want to read more on the original source, so I found this link - Mythical Creatures. Interesting!

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  12. I had not heard this myth before. Thanks for introducing it to me. I like the way the poem seems to mimic the realization of the miners that they have nickel not copper. Interesting psychological effect achieved in a unique way.

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  13. Great to hear about the Nickel and some German folklore. In Cornish tin mines there were the "Knockers" who were like leprechauns and would knock to warn miners of a collapse (or some said were knocking as they caused the collapse).

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  14. Love the cadence of this, Fred. And, the story is really cool. I love learning about these kinds of things. Superstition was a huge part of life back then.

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  15. I like it...a new old story to me..:)

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  16. ..your repetitions give me a haunting feel all throughout the entire piece.... really interesting to hear / read this... i have always thought of Germans having one of the most attracting folktales in the world... the Goblins are almost similar to our Duwende (elf) or Nuno sa Punso that gives misfortunes & sometimes death to those who came to their territory... smiles... i enjoyed this & the prompt... thank you...

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  17. This is really cool, miners would be a very suspicious lot no doubt with many myths and stories. Loved the quick pace and repetition in this one...and thank you for the wonderful prompt!

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  18. Very moving narrative, quite new to me. All the more enjoyable.

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  19. Metals are elusive – nice cadence

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  20. I really enjoyed this piece, the goblins in the mines.

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  21. Loved the rhyme esp. the first line that kind of works like a refrain! and well we do have a tendency to see the grass greener on the other side or call the grapes to be sour. Blame it on the goblins! Some of these folklores have so much value and wisdom hidden in them!!

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