Green Face Man
Succesfully as a belt for whooping,
Was 'de green face man'
Parent-wielding myth,
All about the town at night,
Was he a supposedly frightful sight,
A calypsonian sang:
"De greenface man is all about
De devil in de town so hush you mouth."
© gillena cox 2026
Blog Hopping Today With
Quadrille #250 - Mything Poems
Quadrille #250 - Mything Poems
Creepy!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for dropping by, Ken
DeleteMuch love
Oooo! Nice use of dialect. I can hear him. ;)
ReplyDeleteThanks for dropping by, De
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...I hope that your new week is off to a great start, be well and merry!
ReplyDeleteThanks for dropping by, Tom
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I like this light hearted and fun poem, Gillena well done!🩷
ReplyDeleteThanks for your appreciation, Cara
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Makes me think of a song: "Shut de door, Keep out de devil"
ReplyDeleteHappy you dropped by, Lynn
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A great description of a myth! Jae
ReplyDeleteThanks for your appreciation, Jae
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Nice one, Gillena! Is your Green Face Man based on a Trinidadian myth? I love the bit of calypso at the end of your quadrille.
ReplyDeleteYes, Kim
ReplyDeleteThanks for dropping by
Much love
Like Kim, I suspected this is a myth from Trinidad lore. Is it a myth that parents evoke to have their children obey and be good? Have you heard of the Christmas elf that came to be some years ago in the US? It's a small doll of an elf, and parents hide it in a different spot in the house every night in the month of December - children find it each morning...but the point is that the elf is Santa's helper and watching to insure the child is good!
ReplyDeleteCool Elf story, And yes the green face man myth was a long ago Trimidad myth
DeleteHappy you dropped by, Lillian
Much love
Oooo! I didn't know of this myth. Well done!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your appreciation, Merril
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I enjoyed this. Your Green Face Man reminds me of our Knife Sharpening Man. Terrors of childhood!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your appreciation. Yvonne
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I do know this is meant to keep kids in line..... however, i found your poetry, the rhythm and the Island jargon delightful.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your appreciation. Helen
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Scary stuff! Thank you for sharing the Trinidadian myth. I am terrified of the green witch in the Wizard of Oz to this day.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your appreciation, Mish
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That was great, Gillena!
ReplyDeleteYvette M Calleiro :-)
yvettemcalleiro.blogspot.com
Thanks for your appreciation, Yvette
ReplyDeleteMuch love
Gillena, I love how your poem turns the Green Face Man into a spooky story from your community, and the calypso voice makes it feel real and fun to hear.
ReplyDeleteMuch love,
David
SkepticsKaddish.com