Andrew Scott is a native of Fredericton, NB. During his time as an active poet, Andrew Scott has taken the time to speak in front of classrooms, judge poetry competitions as well as had over 200 hundred writings published worldwide in such publications as The Art of Being Human, Battered Shadows and The Broken Ones.

Andrew Scott has published five poetry books, Snake With A Flower, The Phoenix Has Risen, The Path, The Storm Is Coming and Searching andone book of photography, Through My Eyes.  Whispers Of The Calm is his sixth poetry book.

To contact Andrew, email …andrewscott.scott@gmail.com

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The Sickness

Part One – The Storm


It came overnight,
grey clouds covered 
our usual shining village.
In every corner
the skies anger was apparent.
All you could hear were violent 
cries from above. 

For villagers that got infected 
their bodies acted 
like it was a common flu.
Cold sweats, coughing,
loss of voice, red eyes.
Their agony filled the night,
raspy moans of pain. 

Over the span of days
villagers never got better.
Noticably thin and weak
or they stopped breathing altogether.
So many bodies
from all over the village. 

The sickness did not discriminate.
People who were considered poor
or people who were considered rich,
all were taken away.
Spirits that you could see
floating to the dark sky. 

Part Two – The Witch

Storming out of her home
came our village’s witch,
determined, emanding silence.
All eyes of tired fear 
were upon her. 

She said the Nighttime Walkers 
came to her walls as she slept
with words of survivial. 

We were to take the sick
and put them together
to heal over time. 

The thin and weakened
were also to be sent
to a home to be alone together
so the sickness
would not be spread to others. 

the rest of us were
to cover our skin,
gloves on hands,
covering over the majority 
of our aces
to take away from 
spreading the disease.

The Witch said 
she would wait for mre
voices to know
what more was to be done. 

All we could do was wait. 

Part Three – The Wait

The wait and silence
was mentally fatiguing.
Al we did was sit
in the darkness of our homes.

It took so many days
to divide the sick
and the healthy.

When or if the sick
got any better,
we hoped that they 
would walk out
of their shelter on their own.
Some of the villagers did daily.
One would come out
however two would go in. 

So hard mentally.
Waiting, hoping fmaily
would at least crawl out.
Tears when they did not. 

Madness was taking over
from the alone feeling.
Isolating away,
minds were starting 
to play tricks.

Part Four – Mind Tricks

During the day
you could walk around.
Usual favourite wood path,
the best place to get air
was not that way during this time. 

Maybe it was all the alone time
but it seemed the branches 
were gripping my skin,
words coming out of the bark.
Swear the woods
were mischevious smiling at me. 

Wish it was hallucinations
however the nighttime was worse.
Would love to say they wre bad dreams.

From my bed, rain was heard
thundering down, blowing with winds.
Punching the village homes.

That was not the end of it.
The screams from the dark clouds
echoed for everyone’s ears.

When I dared look at the sky
my eyes saw large winged brids
circling, battling, causing the storms.
The eyes playing with me.

May have been the lack of sleep
but swear by what I saw.
So afraid of what was happening. 

Part Five – The Village

The village was taking a beating,
animals were feeling the fear
and were staying out of the pastures.
Hiding away, not to be seen. 

With night rains
mud was everywhere.
You would sink with each step.

The feeling all over was helplessness
for those of us that were not sick.
The uncertainty of not knowing
about family and friends
that were not seen. 

The scent was overwhelming
of the members that were not breathing.
Villagers tried to bury.
The task was too large.
The crawling bugs
and predaters that hunted
came to try to eat. 

The atmosphere of dread
was in all of our bones
especially since you did not
know if you were to get sick
and what would happen if you did. 

All felt like cowards,
letting our ancestors down
with not giving proper homage. 

If there was an after this,
the village would never be the same we thought. 

Part Six – Mammon

Screaming, the Witch, came running
from home to home, delirious,
repeating the same word over and over.
Mammon.

At first we did not understand
why she was saying the name repeatedly
until our Witch caught her breath
and told us why. 

In a deep state
voices came to her mind
on how or what would cause
this sickness overtaking all of us.
One person, Mammon. 

Mammon was a promenent figure here.
He had the best land
and fortunes at one time.
Generous to all with his fortune
until his land became sour. 

Mammon started demanding
any field, al animals
from all farm lands.

Mammon’s demands
would have bankrupted
all of the villagers.
He wanted the power
turning to greed. 

The villagers said no
to all of the demands
sending Mammon back 
to his mansion
located on the outside of the village. 

His fields became overgrown
when he disappeared.
For years no one saw him.
Now the Witch was
saying Mammon was the cause. 

Part Seven – The Plan


Our Witch said Mammon
consulted the Warlocks of the Seas,
bringing them in to create
the spreading plague.
With no one left
the lands were his to have. 

To fight back the Witch
explained the healing plan.
A ceremony to be held
in the middle of the village center.
A place where so many
happy moment happened
before these trying times.

Those of us that were healthy
were to make a circle,
arms connected to each of us,
eyes closed, chanting to the sky.

We were to perform this at night,
standing in the violent rains,
deeps in the ground’s mud.

The thought of facing this
brought fear and anxiety.

We were to circle around
a sacred symbol.
The Witch explained
the symbols were told to us.
We were to bring out
the villagers that had passed
and those that were sick. 

Part Eight – The Ceremony

With broken hearts
we started bringing
bodies to the center of the village.
To see who had been taken
was so heartbreaking. 

We all fought tears
to build our ceremonial temple.
The rush was on
to have everything ready
before the skies 
started to fully fight
as it had been. 

As the first drops of rain
was starting to hit from above
we all locked arms,
standing in the sinking ground.

Our Witch started the chants
and we all followed
as it grew darker.

All of us had our eyes closed,
chanting over and over again.
Fighting not to lose focus
when we heard the violent
screams from the creatures
in the dark clouds. 

They seemed to create
more rain, thunder and lightening. 
The longer we stood,
the noise and fear, deafening. 

Out of nowhere
a fire exploded upward
from our temple of the fallen
directly to the storm,
creating murderous screaming. 

We, somehow, kept holding
all of our arms together
as the earth shook
and the sky exploded
ending the rains
that had been beating us. 

Part Nine – The Healing

All of us collapsed.
It took a moment or two
to realize the storm
had stopped beating us.
Night full of stars,
a welcoming sight.

We watched in astonishment
to our temple came alive.
The sick and the dead
coming alive. healed. 

The teas of thankfulness
started and did not stop.
Families reunited, holding tight. 

The Witch held by all,
singing her praises.

Even as we were happy
with the celebration of life
each villager knew
we would never 
be the same again.