The Puppet Master
The Puppet Master pulled the strings,
The wooden puppet danced.
An evil grin spread across his face
And back and forth he glanced.
“I am the Puppet Master,
You move to my decree.
You’re just a lifeless marionette
That must rely on me.”
“Bow down to me you piece of pine,
You have no mind or will,
So everything that I command
You always must fulfil.”
He moved the crossed controlling sticks,
An arm lifted, then a leg.
The puppet bowed its wooden head,
But he couldn’t make it beg.
The Puppet Master tugged the strings,
His taunting turned to ire.
He yanked the sticks this way and that,
“I’ll toss you on the pyre!”
The marionette slowly raised its head
And grinned a macabre smile,
It’s gaudy painted puppet’s face
Contorted and defiled.
Terror filled the Master’s eyes,
His mouth could spill no words.
And as the puppet sprang to life
Only screaming could be heard.
They found him in his workshop,
Sightless eyes frozen in dread,
A bloody slash across his throat,
A hatchet buried in his head.
A marionette sat on the shelf,
Its strings, it seems, were cut.
Just a lifeless wooden doll
A craftsman had made..but!
So, don’t be quick to persecute,
Belittle or abuse.
Don’t be a Puppet Master,
Or in the end..you’ll lose!”
John Hansen © 2020
For more works by this author see John Hansen author page on The Creative Exiles.
You can also find great works by John Hansen on HubPages.
- The First Word – A Flash Fiction Story - January 18, 2024
- Dawns Song ~ and Twilight Serenade - December 1, 2023
- Weave Me a Story - June 15, 2023


Awesome John, and a great piece for the upcoming Halloween season, Do you celebrate Halloween in Australia?
Hey Kurt. Thanks for reading. Yes, we have started to in the last few years. Some kids go trick or treating etc (never when I was a kid unfortunately). We don’t get a holiday though. Maybe I should have saved this one to post at Halloween.
Creepy story in a well-written verse of mystery and terror. This would definitely win in a contest of thrillers. Well done, John.
Thank you Phyllis. I am glad you fpound this creepy. I appreciate your comment.
Love horror poetry and was shocked when the violence occurred. Fun read John. Jamie
Thank you Jamie. Glad you like this genre and this poem.