by Cheryl, Gulf Coast Poet

Ghosts of Halloweens Past, Reblog

Photo by Taylor Rooney from Unsplash

Ghosts of Halloweens Past

Cauldrons of magic potions steaming,

Black cats awakening from dreaming.

Cardboard witch astride her broom

cackles under the harvest moon.

Disney princesses in jeweled crowns

are panhandling all over town.

Frankenstein’s monster is resurrected.

Roaming mummies have been detected.

Blow-up ghosts hover mysteriously,

orange lights twinkle in shrubbery.

Hanging from the live oak trees,

paper skeletons dance in the breeze.

Photo by Conner Baker from Unsplash

Spooky music is beckoning,

roving children are threatening,

“Trick or treat! Trick or treat!”

on every suburban street.

Little pirate brandishes a toy sword,

winning him a sweet reward!

Cat Woman says,”Thank you.”

Neighbor says,”Have fun, you two!”

Jack o’lanterns glow,

grinning at the passing show.

Flickering candles beneath

backlight their jagged teeth.

Vampires in windswept black

pantomime a plastic-fang attack.

Howling werewolves with hairy arms

induce us to pretend alarm.

A little troll walks with a giant bunny.

Funny thing is, he calls her “Mummy!”

Diminutive dragons are holding hands

with a Cat-in-a-Hat they call “Dad!”

Wolfing down all the candy they can eat,

Halloween’s children fall blissfully sleep.

Mom chews bubblegum. Dad eats M & Ms.

“Oh no! We can’t stop! When will it all end?

Copyright© 2020 by Cheryl Batavia

40 Comments

  2. Thank you, Joanna, for reading and commenting. I too like pumpkins. Every year in autumn, I buy some miniature pumpkins and place them around the house. They usually last until March. Since we have minimal colorful autumn leaves here, the little pumpkins mark the autumn season for me. 🙂

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    1. Thank you, Michel, for your kind comment. I will have to look up the origins of Halloween as celebrated in the US. There are other US holidays where people knock on doors, demanding food, including Christmas caroling, but I think most of them have died out long ago.

      Trick-or-Treat has changed over time. There were some incidences of extreme tricks, such as egging cars, and of violence against trick-or-treaters such as razor blades in apples or candy that was tampered with.

      When I was a child, children went out in small groups. These days, parents escort children. If you don’t want to give out candy, you leave your porch lights off, and no one will bother you. Parents go through treats, and any treat that is not commercially sealed or is otherwise suspect is discarded.

      In some places, Halloween parties sponsored by schools and churches are viewed as a safer alternative for Trick-or-Treating. Adult costume parties have also become very popular here.

      Take care, Michel!
      Love ❤
      Cheryl

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      1. Thank you , Cheryl, for those description of Halloween. In France this did not exist when I was young until the year 1970’s . Now this American tradition seems to happen . but not much.
        but here we have All Saints Day on the first of November , for long. It is not the same ! 🙂
        Michel ❤

        Liked by 2 people

      1. I agree Cheryl, as the saying goes, we have thirteen festivals in tewlve months! Or may be more. You see these festivals are the excuses to break the mundane of a routine life and help people bond with each other. I like the concept of Halloween very much…… In fact we have Bhoot Chaturdasi two days prior to upcoming Deepavali, the festival of lights. Which more or less falls around the time of Halloween 🎃 You know what bhoot means, ghosts! We observe it to keep the ghosts at bay!!😃😊 Wish you a very happy weekend too!❤❤❤

        Liked by 2 people

  10. A beautiful poem, Cheryl. I liked …Funny thing is, he calls her “Mummy!” I don’t know how halloween came into being, but it’s really an enjoyable fun. Thank you so much for such a wonderful post 👌🤗💖

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    2. Haha! My 2 daughters sent me a photo of them in their costumes. They chaperoned a party at church last night. Two big kids! I miss having trick-or-treaters. I think we are too isolated here to have any. I hope you have big plans to celebrate tonight. Happy Halloween, Cindy! ❤

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