Bones and Lace
A Halloween poem
Dark was the night, crisp was the air, Children ready for fright. Timid souls, beware! It was there that she stood, tall with long black hair Pass by her, they should. Oh! her terrifying stare!
A stare so deep, so dark, so raw, Taking just a small peep, scarce believing what they saw! She stood there, quite still, at the top of the road Bones, lace, feather quill, black cat, cauldron and toad.
A haunted look on her pale face, blood-red her fingers and lips, An air of sorrow, of dramatic grace, black dagger at her hip. What should they do? Their desire was strong And surely she wouldn’t be standing there long?
There was only one way to the light in the dark, To sweet treasure of silver and gold, T’was to walk past this ghost, this ghoul with the mark, Destined never to grow old.
The children, they quivered and shook with fear, Approaching slowly, whispering, “shall we go near?” They wondered, quite rightly, if the treasure was worth The terror and pain of this demon’s universe.
Undeterred by sounds of beating hearts and quick breath, They crept ever closer to their potential death, One thing on their minds, that sugary treasure Opening the wrappers for minutes of pleasure!
The wind whipped around blowing leaves in the air The dark crept ever closer without any care The children they trembled, skin with goosebumps, (Oh dear! Orange pumpkin demon? Nah, just Trump)
The woman she stood in the dark swirling night Wondering who would next get a fright. She saw the children huddled just up the road She readied herself and patted her toad.
This was something she did every year, Decked out in horror to give Halloween cheer Why should the children have all the fun? Now she enjoyed making them run!
Life as an adult shouldn’t stop Halloween, If you can’t trick or treat, you can still make kids scream!
This piece was written in response to the wonderful prompt by Susan Brearley at MuddyUm.
Lisa enjoys writing poetry. It actually saved her life! (But that’s another story…) She can be found making dresses from bones and lace, tapping poetry into her phone or scribbling into her notepad. She doesn’t usually participate in Halloween but has thoroughly enjoyed writing this poem. She doesn’t ‘do’ candy (or lollies, as they’re called in her world).
