Flash Fiction Fridays: 'Tis the Season

To start December off right, here is a clever piece by friend of the blog, R. Doug Wicker. Enjoy.

A Poe Christmas
By R. Doug Wicker


Once upon a snowstorm dreary, through which I trudged all weak and weary,

Past many a quaint and curious number of advertisement lore

I saw the ad, above some wrapping; on the door I started tapping

At first it was a gentle tapping, tapping at the storefront door

I must gain entry to this store, as there was nothing then I wanted more

Searching for this and nothing more

The toy was here for which I search, leaving me in quite a lurch
Having waited far too long to shop for “The Super Fly-A-Saur”

Eagerly I watched the clerk, beckoning me not to shirk
I quickly entered, nearly berserk; “I must have it,” I said with a smirk

“Where, oh where, be that damned flying dinosaur?”

Quoth the clerk, “The second floor”

Up the escalator I ran, fighting against its downward span
I cursed its descending stairs as I glanced to the ascending flight before
Casually the clerk began her ascent, chuckling at my predicament

“I fear, sir, you shall be spent, before you reach the next department”
I ran, and ran, for far too long, fighting against this tiresome chore

Vowing “Not up the down escalator evermore”

I stopped, bent over double, breathing hard for all my trouble
Crying out with all my might, “Where is this cursed Fly-A-Saur?”

She smiled that stupid service smile, the one that sends me shaking

“Tis over here,” she said. “Right behind that great big door”
“Tis over there, I swear, or my name is not Lenore

“Tis what you seek and nothing more”

I pushed the double doors apart, what I saw gave me a start
“There’s nothing here, I’ve been tricked, where is this hellish dinosaur?”

She smirked again, mocking me, sending me quaking
I felt rage in the making, “Tis right there,” said this shrewish bore

“You see, we’re all out at this store; here’s your rain check, nothing more”

Thus I strangled the fair Lenore.




Doug Wicker is a graduate of Kubasaki High School in Okinawa, Japan. He attended college for two years at Clemson University before enlisting in the U.S. Air Force. His stint in the Air Force began a thirty-four-year career as an air traffic controller, serving with both the U.S. Air Force and the Federal Aviation Administration.  He is a writer of both fiction and nonfiction. He enjoys thrilling his audience with tales of murder and suspense, as in the recent Kindle release of his mystery novel Decisions.

Today, R. Doug Wicker lives in El Paso with his lovely wife, Ursula, whom he married in 1978. He enjoys writing, reading, travel, art, photography, gourmet cooking, fine wines, and bridge (the game, not the structure). He looks forward to further entertaining his fans for years to come with earlier works from his archive of currently unpublished works, as well as his upcoming murder mystery, The Globe.