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.

Baku

Before you go to bed at night

say your prayers; say them right

then nestle in, under covers spell

and ever, always sleep; sleep well

But if a problem should occur

if you hear an angered word

or see a face with fangs in blood

just remember, this is but a dream

that’s gone wrong… that it is something

so easily solved

Remember, there are no such things as ghosts

Remember, there are no such things as monsters

Thoughts spoken to ease the child’s mind

Thoughts, naively conceived

Simply look above you there

and choose to see Baku

then permit him to devour

your every nightmare clean

Then reawake

in a refreshed state

by dreaming the sweetest dreams

You’ve ever seen

The Baku is a mythical creature that comes from the lore of Japan.  There are many different descriptions of what a Baku looks like.  The more modern description shows him to look like a giant tapir, having the body of a horse, the head of a lion and the legs and paws of a tiger.

They are the type of creature that lives mutually with humans.  Whenever a person awakes, after suffering a nightmare or bad dream, it is told that if that person calls on Baku, he will.  He’ll enter the dreamers mind and eat all the fragments of the nightmare up.  The human will then awake feeling refreshed and  it is told they will experience a very peaceful day.