Oh Ouija board oh Ouija board
Not one to doubt your vision
Well rubbed with cloth the planchette notes
Of other realms or friction
To spell out words like AGNTHM
Or STRIMPH there is no telling
Interpretations seal the deal
And no account for spelling
For I suspect in afterlife
There’s really little mind
For any such* except perhaps
The spiritual kind
We tried to summon Lemmy but
In keeping our mind open
When the planchette spelled out 5 T H
We just went with Beethoven
But while many will doubt I guess
We’ll never truly know
If the gate to hell’s a cardboard toy
Created by Hasbro
*Refers to the double meaning of spelling, as in the grammatical kind, vs. the casting of spells
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When I was 18 I rather fancied a Welsh gal yet she did that Ouija board thing and scared the life out of me…that, I can tell you, was the end of that!
I hope not all boys are like you. This poem was actually inspired by my daughter’s new obsession with the dark side…Ouija boards, horror movies, you name it. Her room is currently covered by images of people in various states of deterioration.
On a serious note…my tale was a true one…those boards are dangerous.
Who knew that these toy manufacturers provided a gateway to hell? Then again, Chucky is real, right?
Of course!
I haven’t touched one since college, maybe it’s time to again 😉
It’s pretty fun. My daughter freaked me out with it the other day by pushing it around until it spelled ‘you died’. I swear, the thing really does move…it just rarely makes sense.
Never had such a board to be honest! But reading your poem makes me curious! As long as you don’t take it too serious it must be a lot of fun!
Well, for sure. It really does move, just rarely gives any messages that make any sense. Well, that’s my experience anyway.
I can imagine this and the more fanatic you are the more you read into it! Can be pretty dangerous, I guess! But would be a fun game for New Year’s eve!
Yes, for sure!
😉
So that’s the problem! I was always looking for a literal message rather than one in code that might require some interpretation 😉
Oh really? Maybe you’re on to something. I always take it on face value…even if it’s making no sense. We got it to say dej vu….deja vu without the A? Not sure. The 5th thing really did happen too.
I search for a darker meaning in life.
I thought you were the darker meaning in life.
I always thought it was a game, until I was yelled at as a child when my parents found out I had “played” this at a friend’s house. Fear of my parents kept me from ever playing it again. 🙂
I read about the history of it when I wrote this and they said when it was first conceived, many people thought it was great fun to conjure a loved one since so many died young. I guess the associations became darker as time went on.
I know when I was a child it was FORBIDDEN. 😉
I’m with you on this idea that Hasbro somehow holds the key to eternal damnation . . . at $19.95! And really, I think Ludwig and Lemmy would’ve gotten along splendidly.
Ya think? Hmmm…as long as Beethoven had a bottle of Jack, I don’t think Lemmy would have minded too much.
Well it’s even more clever with your asterisked explanation of the double meaning. 🙂
Thanks! Normally I like to let the poem speak for itself but I thought that one would just get lost if I didn’t.
Good call! 🙂
Great poem Marissa, I had a friend completely obsessed with the Ouija board, kind of freaked me out!
I can see how that could be!
🙂
I remember going though this stage. My cousin never grew out of it and writes about ghosts.
I guess that could be cool…as long as she is inspired creatively.
I was just thinking about my friend and I playing with the board in high school. She was a minister’s daughter, lol. The gate to hell may very well be via Hasbro…ha ha!
Ha, ha! I wonder what the minister thought of that one. I suppose it could also be the stairway to heaven!
Yeah, the stairway might go both ways 🙂
Great poem! These supernatural contacts are always so open to interpretation… 🙂
Yes, for sure!
Marissa, love your sense of humour! You have this genre of comic poetry down to an art!
Thank you Kunal!
I used to play around with the Ouija board, asking them all sorts of interesting questions like was the moon made out of cheese. If so, is it cheddar, mozzarella or Parmesan. Then one night I got a message that scared the bejeesus out of me. It said, “LEAVE ME ALONE OR I AM GOING TO KICK YOUR BUTT.” I’m still sore from that encounter.
Wow, that would have been the longest message ever received on a Ouija board. Besides, everyone knows it’s made of gouda!
I loved the Ouija board and outs was made of particle board with a wooden veneer finish. My girlfriends and I loved asking future questions mostly about love, family and career. Marissa, thanks for the memories!!
It is a fun thing. Glad you liked it Robin!
Ohhh!!! Too scary for me for sure. Even at my age, I still shut the wardrobe doors before bed ‘just in case’. I mean, you never know, right?!
Ha! Sure, better safe than sorry!
You wrote something truly unique with this poetic concept of the Ouija board.
The ending of this blow my mind away. 🙂 Awesome work. 🙂
Thanks! I always try to make my ending ‘the clincher’!
Indeed, you made the ending right on the spot. 🙂
Thank you for this…your poetry and music bring a smile to my face. 🙂
P.S I posted something.
I’m also board.
Nice!
Ha, totally love this.
Thank you!