The Headless Horseman

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Title:     The Headless Horseman
Author: Madison Julius Cawein [More Titles by Cawein]

On the black road through the wood
As I rode,
There the Headless Horseman stood;
By the wild pool in the wood,
As I rode.

From the shadow of an oak,
As I rode,
Demon steed and rider broke;
By the thunder-shattered oak,
As I rode.

On the waste road through the plain,
As I rode,
At my back he whirled like rain;
On the tempest-blackened plain,
As I rode.

Four fierce hoofs shod red with fire,
As I rode,
Woke the wild rocks, dark and dire;
Eyes and nostrils streamed with fire,
As I rode.

On the deep road through the rocks,
As I rode,
I could reach his horse's locks;
Through the echo-hurling rocks,
As I rode.

And again I looked behind,
As I rode,--
Dark as night and swift as wind,
Towering, he rode behind,
As I rode.

On the steep road down the dell,
As I rode,
In the night I heard a bell,
In the village in the dell,
As I rode.

And my soul called out in prayer,
As I rode,--
Lo! the demon went in air,
Leaving me alone in prayer,
As I rode.

[The end]
Madison Julius Cawein's poem: Headless Horseman

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