Note: Leshies are forest guardians who are known to tickle people to death.
When leshies cry,
Their blood of blue
Runs through their tears,
Bidding adieu
Worn creatures that
Once hopped and leaped
And flew with joy
In forests deep.
With rich green eyes
And pale moon skin,
They lose their
Mischief-making grin
And seek no more
To lure away
Poor wanderers
Who’ve lost their way
To silent caves
To tickle them
For laughter bright,
A hidden gem.
When humans die
From too much mirth,
The leshies sit
Upon the earth
And shed green grass
And vines that grow
From living beards
And hairs that flow
And wonder how
Such precious sounds
Can lead to tears
Upon the ground.
Reowr 
Guardians that tickle people to death? That is mighty frightening. Cubby, a lovely work, indeed.
There are some really interesting mythological creatures. I deliberately steered away from the akaname which is a demon in Japanese folklore that is said to sneak into your bathroom and lick it clean. Apparently it doesn’t do much else except lick filth and scare people into better bathroom hygiene.
You have a way with words. Words that flow like a gentle running stream. Great work Love it
Thank you so much Barb. I’m so glad you enjoyed this one! 🙂
Reminded me of my childhood when my ather used to tickle me until I could take no more…..I think he was a relamtive of the leshies 🙂
Yeah, I’m pretty sure there are some of them out there…those who take pure delight in tickling people past reason, not realizing how tortuous it really is. 🙂
Never heard of them…is this a fairy-tale creature or one you made up? I can picture them, though….and, having been “tortured” by an older sister by being tickled ’til I couldn’t breathe, I know death is a plausible result.
From Slavic mythology. If you get lost in their woods, you are supposed to turn all of your clothes inside out and place your shoes on the wrong feet to protect yourself from them and find your way back out.
Wow you sure do have an education in all sorts of unusual stuff! Very lovely poem!
Cats like to stick their noses into all kinds of stuff. 🙂
How wonderful.
🙂
This is a really cool poem and I love that it’s about a mythical creature. A very funny one at that. A friend of mine likes to read the origins of werewolves and how different cultures define them. He told me an Irish myth that there’s a werewolf who watches over children. Mythology is just cool period.
Yes, mythology is very cool! There are so many strange beings we have never heard of before lost in ancient folklore and myth. Werewolves that watch over children = free babysitters! Sweet. 🙂
I have also not heard of them but I had heard that if you got lost in woods you were to turn your clothes inside out 🙂
Ah I wonder if that’s part of the same legend. 🙂
probably yeah 🙂
Awesome poem and very interesting. I’ve never heard of this creature before
They are quite interesting creatures. The only tickle monster that I know of in mythology. 🙂
I heard about creatures in stories from my mum. Nice stuff!
That’s very cool! Nice to know their legend still gets passed on by mouth. 🙂
Your mental fertility is quite inspiring.
Wish I could say I created them, but leshies come from Slavic mythology. 🙂
Dying from too much mirth–wonder what that would be like. But the tickling part–that’s just perverse cruelty, and I’ll never understand it.
I agree with tickling being perverse cruelty, especially when your sides start hurting. But it is a great workout!
A magical read Cubby! I’ve never heard of leshies, but you have endeared them to me despite the threat they pose to us. 🙂 I love your style, it is fun to read and flows smoothly.
Hi Shainbird! I wonder if leshies are where the term “tickle monster” originated from, for surely that is what they are! 🙂
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My oh my…what a fertile imagination…scary too! I’m just glad I’m one of those creatures that isn’t ticklish! 🙂 Great story…what kind of chocolate shall it be today Cubby Kitty?
Ah…just read you found them from the Slaves…interesting folk lore!
Did you read about the akaname? In Japanese folklore, they are demons who lick dirty bathrooms clean!
Oooooooo….need one of those!
This is pure fabulousness 🙂
So fantastically wonderful! … I would not want to be tickled to death, lol.
I know, what a horrible death that would be. I hate being tickled. I give people the evil eye if they try to do that to me.