dark speculative poetry

Bigtop Dreams
Laurie Paulsen

Stuffed clown,
propped on that spindly chair,
your silver painted eyes
glinting in the moonlight,
your floppy striped arms
arranged artfully so.
Stare at me like you mean it.

I fall asleep and dream of your teeth
dripping my blood,
your arms wrapped around my throat
as you drag me into the abyss.
Don’t you see?
Your obsidian needs
keep me from my own.
I watch you
to forget my own hunger.

I want to climb inside you
and feed on screams forever.

i was searching a bit on the internet for horror-based poetry. i admit my knowledge base on the subject is pretty spare, and could only come up with Edgar Allen Poe on my own. (If you know of other poets who specialize in the creepy, please send me their names.)

my internet search netted me a few amateur sites which may prove interesting:

http://www.authorsden.com/categories/poetry.asp?alpha=a&catid=52
http://www.sffworld.com/authors/poems/horror.html
http://www.poems-and-quotes.com/dark/dark_poems.html
http://unspeakablehorror.com/journal/2008/12/29/new-horror-poetry.html

so, take a peek. seems odd to me that more poetry exploring the spooky and disturbing isn't out there. horror and dark writing is a natural for poetic expression--the imagery distilled to its most pungent essence, snatching the most vivid moments for expression--these two forms should be an automatic pairing; like babies and pitchforks.

update: my husband handed me another link. looks fascinating! http://www.poemsofthefantastic.com/