Written many years ago but reposted as it's the season!


Hallow'een Memories

Indigo clouds take bites out of a ripe pearl moon.
Crisp salads of autumn leaves peppered with road dust
Salted with early snow dress the road.
Porches in glowing pumpkin
Yellow corn stalks and hay bales
Staging this night of innocent disbelief.

A joyous man with swaying lantern
shepherds laughing children in castoffs
Riotous patchworks of fabric, texture and color.
Running house to house.
Faces hidden.
Flashing eyes fool no one.

Tribute demanded in shy and halting style,
freely given accompanied by Shakespearian
"who's this" and "oh your scary"!
This joyful extortion of bounty,
This wonderful sharing of the night.
Sense the counterpoint of fearful dress and crystal ringing voices
The tingling serendipity of a child's delight!

Home now... run! The sack is full
Cold and windy evenings build the chill
Only warm milk, a throw and crackling fire will Remedy.

Treasures studied by flashing eyes
Joyful shouts at unique and unexpected jewels
not part of the usual Walmart blend.
Two months till Christmas
The expectation has begun...
The soft call "To bed Now"
As nodding heads confirm the night has taken its loving toll.

Indigo clouds take bites out of a ripe pearl moon.
Crisp salads of autumn leaves peppered with road dust
Salted with early snow dress the road.
Porches dressed in glowing pumpkin
Yellow corn stalks and hay bales
Staging this night of innocent disbelief.

The man, old now, sits nodding in smiling recollection
The children gone
The lantern rusty
The crackling fire.... his warm, consoling, aide memoire





Poetry by josephus The PoetBay support member heart!
Read 600 times
Written on 2018-10-19 at 21:40

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Excellent work, Joseph: lots of alert and lively language! You paint the scene beautifully.
2018-10-21


shells
I didn't celebrate Hallowe'en as a child, but this has me feeling I missed out big time, such a depth of nostalgia, beautiful memories. The repetition of the opening stanza works so well.
2018-10-20



Very vivid descriptions and exactly as I remember it including the very end. Great poem for Halloween. It was a fun time.
Ashe
2018-10-20