There will be no pumpkin-carving this year,
Or costumes to make,
Faces to paint.
An infant in a pumpkin suit,
Two dinosaurs,
Three pirates sorting bounty
on a carpeted floor.
An Arabian princess,
Dracula, Frankenstein, ninja,
Batman or a Power Ranger.
Six hours away,
A toddler in a dragon suit today.
We need no jack-o-lanterns here,
The woods are near.
The wide spread of a swooping hawk’s wings,
The ryhthmic squawk at dusk,
The hoot of an owl,
Eyes piercing the dark,
Small critters scurrying to hide.
The stink of a skunk,
The screech of a fight in the night.
These woods hold much to fear,
We need no jack-o-lanterns here.
We’ll not go out this night.
Turn out the lights.
The ghosts of yesteryear
live here.
Christine M. Grote 
Interesting poem.
Thanks for stopping by, Richard. Happy Halloween.
*Sigh* I completely understand! But… we carved a pumpkin last night!! And used it for my blog post today! And we will give out candy — was going to turn out the lights BUT my college-daughter talked me into it (she also wrote my blog post today, LOL). HAPPY HALLOWEEN, Christine. Hopefully you’ll eat less of the Halloween candy than I have!
The long private drive is the problem. No kid in their right mind would take the time to venture down the drive for only two houses. We’ve talked about sitting at the end of the drive. It’s supposed to rain, but if the blue skies hold, I may go buy candy, dig out my pointy black hat, fill the cauldron with candy and drag my lawn chair up the drive. We’ll see.
You’d have to go a long way to beat me on the candy front.
Nice poem, Christine!
Thanks, Cynthia. How many Three Musketeers have you eaten this year?
Bravo, absolutely superb!
Thanks. I’m warming up to digging out my pointy black hat.
Then who supplies the Baby Ruths ?
Whoever supplies the Three Musketeers.
And let’s not forget the Reeses Cups
If you feel the urge, come sit on the steps with us here in the Gaslight where we treat between 250 and 300 tricksters. We are grateful to live in a safe and well-lit neighborhood, and those who don’t drive here and share their fantasy selves with us. Happy Halloween!
That’s so nice of you, Jan. But I just bought some candy, and some sparkling green fingernails. I need to go dig up a hat, and I will be ready to go. We’ll see if anyone stops by our drive (as long as it doesn’t rain—then all bets are off).
Oooh… I love this, Christine.The ghosts of yesteryear – memories of your kids’ Halloween costumes. So lovely!
Thanks, Melissa. When does your hiatus start?
I know exactly what you mean! We used to live in a wooded area with a very long driveway. Now we live in an area where our neighbors are seasonal. Geesh, no jack o’lanterns here either 😦
Well, now we move on to Thanksgiving where a long driveway can be a good thing.
Happy Halloween, Christine!
Hope you had a spooky holiday.
It’s pouring rain here tonight. Guess I can mark “water new tree” off my list for tomorrow. Hope you had a lovely evening.
That’s the way I like to take care of my to-do list. It was a beautiful night here. We loaded Mark’s truck with chairs, a table, a candle, and a cauldron of candy. Then threw a bottle of wine and two glasses in as well, and enjoyed sitting out on the end of our drive for a while.
Your poem got me all emotional. I don’t like that “six hours away” part :(.
It was, however, very creative.
The six hours away is killing me, if you can’t tell. I just need to continually reset my expectations.
yes Happy Halloween :):) lovely poem:)
Thank you Debra.
This is a very sad and haunting poem, which means that it is beautifully done! Thank you for creating this, Christine!
Thanks for stopping by to read it, Jolina. I really enjoy reading your posts. You are a lovely writer.