Halloween

Think spiders, cobwebs, pointy hats,
Broomsticks, witches, rats, black cats
Enormous pumpkins carved with care
Turned into lanterns everywhere
An eerie glow on window sills
Flickering candles ward off ills
Ghoulish masks, the Devil’s kin
Evil walks abroad – stay in!

But who now thinks what this may mean
The revelry of Halloween
When Dracula and Batman faces
Pop up in unexpected places?
Legends and religion try
This Pagan vestige to apply
Fear of Darkness and the unknown
Better not go out alone.

In America it is “trick or treat”
As hordes of children walk the street
Attired as ghosts in flowing drapes
Or wizards swirling round in capes.
Doorbells ring, each neighbour greets
These tiny visitors with sweets;
Who now remembers the bell tolls
To commemorate “All Souls”?

(c) Poet in the woods 2013