The Midnight Dreary - By Ms. Luna Mosiea

Written By: Ms. Luna Mosiea

Category: Poetry

Competition: Global Poetry and Creative Writing Competition 2026

In the captivating poem "The Midnight Dreary," Ms. Luna Mosiea, known by her writing name "The Midnight Dreary," brings to life a narrative rich with emotion and depth. Featured in the Global Poetry and Creative Writing Competition 2026, this work is a poignant exploration of love and loss. The poem intricately weaves a tale of a princess and a prophet, enveloped in themes of remembrance and regret. Ms. Mosiea's contribution stands as a testament to her literary prowess, resonating with the echoes of legendary poets like Edgar Allan Poe and William Shakespeare.

About the Work

"The Midnight Dreary" unfolds a somber tale set in the mystical Towns in the Abyss. The poem's mood is melancholic, capturing the essence of a forbidden love that transcends even death. Ms. Mosiea employs vivid imagery and rich symbolism, drawing inspiration from classical poets to convey the profound sorrow of her characters. Through the lament of a princess and the haunting presence of a raven, the poem leaves readers contemplating the enduring nature of love and the inevitable shadows of loss.

The Midnight Dreary

Original Submission by Ms. Luna Mosiea

The Midnight Dreary

By Ms. Luna Mosiea

Silky black satin touch. Black eyes that always pry.

Always delivering news of dread, and rarely ones of joy.

This time was no exception, as her soft, delicate head tilted back,

And her eyes fell to the scream-filled sky:

A Raven there circled high in the midnight sky, delivering a message straight from above:

“My dear Princess. You who once calmed my screams and inner turmoils.

The battles my spirit fought, only you could hear the brawls.

But because of mine own foolish love, you are now gone from my world,

And it’s with a saddened heart I write these words.

Once the midnight dreary struck, and the daunting news of your passing silently crept down the castle walls…

I let out a curdling cry to the midnight sky.

I scrum a scream so loud for the Most High, to bring me back to my love.

By virtue of our forbidden love, we had left each other high and dry.

For little did I know that you, my love, would be set on fire due to our desire.

And that poison had course through thy veins and laid claim to your life.

And just like Romeo, I went ahead and ripped my heart from my ribcage.

It broke and I cracked it open, took my life straight to the grave.

My dear Princess, I could not bear a life without you, no way.

For it would be all dull and grey.

Would you ever forgive me my dear? For in the face of death, I showed no courage

And all I could do was spew my forgotten love onto this dreary page.

Goodnight my Princess, you are now free from your cage.”

The Princess fell on her garden floor, weeping with a heart so sore.

She clutched her letter in her hands, knowing that she’s going to war:

Goodnight my dear Prophet. You will forever be missed.

Thank you, dear Raven for tapping on my chamber door.

He can finally rest now…down at the bottom of the ocean floor.

Poem Analysis:

This poem was written by Luna. It can be viewed as a goodbye letter from The Prophet, to “The Princess” of The Towns in The Abyss. The Midnight Dreary stands tall and proud with 3 stanzas and is completed with 29 lines. Lastly, it’s important to note that The Midnight Dreary is a sequel to my poem titled “My Prophet” written by Luna, but more on that later in the analysis.

The Poetic devices that can be found throughout the poem:

The setting of the poem is located in a garden, in The Towns in the Abyss. This garden is where we find our first character, The Princess. She is in an outdoor setting; hence she can tilt her head and look up at the sky in lines 3 and 4.

The theme of the poem is Remembrance and Regrets, and the tone is sad and regretful. The poem originally has 3 stanzas it can be divided into, and they go as follows:

Stanza 1: Lines 1 to 6

Stanza 2: Lines 7 to 24

Stanza 3: Lines 25 to 29

Breakdown of the poem:

Stanza 1 opens up with a tribute to the ancient scrolls that sang the praises of the Raven in line 1. It includes a full description of how the Raven is depicted when it arrived at the garden, and this is where we first see The Princess. We see the raven circling above her before finally delivering a letter that was sent to her from beyond the grave. This line symbolises that these two lines were written as a tribute to the depiction of the raven in folklore. In the ancient days, ravens were the world’s massagers, and often times symbolized wisdom and sometimes death. The death depiction is showcased in lines 2 and 3, and throughout the whole of stanza 2 in the letter.

Parts of line 3 and the whole of line 4 say: …as her soft, delicate head tilted back and her eyes fell to the scream-filled sky.” These 2 lines aid in painting us a picture of how the Princess is depicted once the raven arrived with the letter, receiving the message. From this we can imagine that the raven must have made a loud noise that caused the Princess to look up to the sky. We can even go deeper and anticipate that the raven must have felt the weight of the news it was carrying. For the person who gave it the message must have been in the heaviest of moods.

In stanza 2, we now get to read the dreadful letter along with the Princess. It must be known that this letter is from the Prophet, a lone traveller who once visited The Abyss where the Princess lives. More on the backstory later on in the analysis. The letter opens up with the Prophet speaking, reminiscing on the love he had for the Princess, and speaking on how she healed him as much as he healed her. The seemingly happy and cheerful prophet was actually fighting silent battles, and only the princess saw through him and loved him as he is. We see this in lines 7 and 8. Line 9 shows us a hint of regret in the prophet’s tone when he says: “But because of mine own foolish love, you are gone from my world.” We can speculate that the prophet blames himself for loving the princess unapologetically and thus causing her death/murder.

Lines 11 to 13 tell us how the Prophet reacted once he received the news of her death. Lines 16 and 17 reveal to us what actually happened to the princess, and we now find out that she was poisoned. The Prophet was not aware that this is what happened to the Princess, and even though he knew their love was forbidden (line 15), he would have thought that her most trusted servants and advisors would do that.

The letter goes on to tell us the state the prophet found himself in (lines 18 to 23) once he heard about the death of the princess. He feels a deep sense of regret and even asks for forgiveness in line 21, for not being able to survive alone.

Stanza 3 brings us back to reality in the gardens of the abyss, where our princess is weeping as she reads the letter from her love. She says her last goodbyes to the wind and utters The Prophet’s famous line: “You’ll forever be missed.” This line brings the story of the two lovers to a full circle moment, forever uniting them with those words. She then thanks the raven for delivering the letter to her in line 28 and here we can see that the raven never left the Princess’s side, somewhat serving as a comforting companion when she was reading the heavy letter. The princess mentions the seafloor in line 29, and the reader may speculate and draw their own conclusions about this line. Whether the prophet is at the bottom of the ocean or at the bottom of the abyss, it is completely up to the reader to decide.

Back story: The Poem ‘My Prophet’ was an Ode from The Princess to The Prophet, but The Midnight Dreary can be viewed as a Goodbye Letter from The Prophet to the Princess of the Abyss. The backstory of the Prophet and the Princess goes like this: The Prophet was a lone traveller who passed through The Towns of the Abyss. There he met a Princess and they proceeded to become entangled in a forbidden relationship with one another. It must be understood that the town’s people are mostly gloomy and depressed, and extremely possessive and jealous of their Princess. This is the general consensus of the storyline. And for a long time, this was all the town’s people knew, broody and gloomy. That is how the Abyss survives and how it has thrived for the longest of times; banning as well as feeding off of all forms of happiness. And now this seemingly optimistic traveller passes through the Abyss and radiates a different energy that completely goes against the norm, and he had the nerve to capture the people’s hearts and the most important heart: The Princess’s. This attraction and love angered the elders of the Abyss, the ones who governed the people, because the Princess was now radiating a happy energy and, in her love-struck daze, she started rebelling. She escaped the Abyss for love and came back to try and change the kingdom; to bring back happiness to her people but was killed because before she could corrupt the people. The reason for her death was because any royal leader of The Abyss was not allowed to break the cycle of gloom and brood, let alone engage in any romantical relations with anyone. Furthermore, they were not allowed to love anyone other than the townspeople. A cruel rule that the Princess happily broke with her love: the Prophet. At the end of this poem, we find out that The Princess is now the ruler of the Towns in the Abyss, and even though she was killed, she still rules the abyss. And because this poem is a sequel, we get to see the aftermath of the death of The Princess and the devastating impact it had on her prophet.

Lastly, The Midnight Dreary heavily draws inspiration from the famous poem The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe. This can be seen more specifically in the last two lines. I used to be in love with The Raven as a young 11 year old girl and it inspired these two poems: My Prophet and The Midnight Dreary. The manner in which I wrote The Midnight Dreary poem also pays tribute to William Shakespeare’s writing but not in the conventional Shakespearean language, rather in a loosely tied manner that intentionally almost doesn’t make sense.

| Page

About the Competition

The Global Poetry and Creative Writing Competition 2026 by Hashtag Kalakar is a prestigious platform celebrating literary excellence from around the world. This competition provides poets and writers with a unique opportunity to share their creative voices with a global audience. Participants are invited to submit original works in various categories, showcasing their talent and passion for the written word. The competition fosters a vibrant community of creatives, encouraging both emerging and established writers to engage with diverse literary forms.

We extend our deepest gratitude to Ms. Luna Mosiea for sharing "The Midnight Dreary" with us in the Global Poetry and Creative Writing Competition 2026. Her work enriches the literary landscape with its haunting beauty and emotional depth. We look forward to witnessing more of her insightful contributions to the world of poetry. Thank you, Ms. Mosiea, for your dedication to the art of storytelling and for touching the hearts of readers worldwide.

About Hashtag Kalakar

Hashtag Kalakar is a creative platform dedicated to providing artists, writers, singers and other creative talents with opportunities to showcase their work and reach wider audiences through competitions, features and creative initiatives.