Halloween

[Hawkman]

“Be sober, be vigilant, for the Devil as a roaring lion,
walketh abroad, seeking whom he may devour.”


All Hallows Eve is a time to grieve;
Spirits come hunting for vengeance.
If you’ve something to hide, and you want to survive,
Seal up your temple’s main entrance.

Ward off the ghosts, who’ll stop by in hosts,
Spidery fingers all grasping;
Their voices you’ll hear and they’ll fill you with fear,
Sounding so wicked and rasping.

Use all your charm to protect you from harm,
Jack-o-lants fierce and burning,
Spirits, when bottled, are perfectly safe,
But when they’re outside, keep them turning.

For if they get in, then it’s your head will spin,
Reason and logic departed,
The morning to come really won’t be much fun
Hung-over and broken-hearted.

[qimissung]

It's a classic, Hawkman.

[Hawkman]

Thanks qim, but the last line isn't so hot, the scansion gets lumpy. Still thinking about it - lol.

Live and be well - H

[AuntShecky]

Oíche Shamhna shona duit!

[Hawkman]

Calan Gaeaf hapus i chi hefyd! :devil:

[Haunted]

There's nothing like an old fashioned Halloween poem to get in the mood. Just like Qim said, it's a classic!

[Delta40]

The last stanza doesn't have the same wonderful flow as the others Hawk but overall, a great read.

[Hawkman]

Thanks Haunt, glad it got you in the mood - lol. Did you get trick or treated I wonder, and did you get to bake any kids in your oven? ;)

Hi Delta, thanks for reading and enjoying. Couldn't let the occasion slip by without some kind of acknowledgement, even if it's not quite up to snuff - lol. I'll try and do better next time. Last year's short was much better than this little poem though :devil: Wonder what I'll come up with next year...

Live and be well - H

[Twota]

I really like it, the last two stanzas specially. :D

[aliengirl]

An entertaining read although I'm not sure whether ghosts and spirits would like to enter my sanctified spaceship. :D

[Hawkman]

Thanks Twota, glad the entertainment value is undiminished for you :D

Ripley, happy to have entertained you but as for the spaceship, it might depend on whether it had been consecrated with gin :D (Oh, and in case you were wondering, The Grand Master of the Juniper, is an office in the Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes, and his job is to consecrate the meeting hall with Gin! Sad, but true - Lol) If your spaceship has been so sanctified, then you have no escape :devil:

Live and be well - H

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

Great poem. I think your complaint about scansion is unwarranted. Then again, I've never understood scansion all that well.

[Hawkman]

M-M: thanks for reading and enjoying :) Scansion is all about the distribution of stresses in a line in repeating patterns.

The pattern for the last line in the previous verse is: di dah di di dah di di dah di, but in the last it goes: dah dah di di dah di dah di. Not good! It's that three syllable 'departed' at the end of the second line which is causing the problem. Can't find a word with the right rhythm, that rhymes and makes sense in the context of the verse. Hi ho. Can't win em all ;)

Live and be well - H