Almost Bewitched

 It's almost Halloween, and the cool nights and the bright leaves and the pumpkins are all gathering.  I saw photos of witches on paddleboards, which was amusing but beyond my current abilities. Haha. I ordered a new witchy hat in red, but it's big for me. I look like I'm hiding under a red mushroom. Maybe I'll find another recipient.  

Anyway, I have a new poem. I was inspired to write this by a recent experience. 

Acrobats

In soft evening light

Lake lapping

Reflecting

I find a performance

Just at the shore

Acrobats in black

Doing stunts for their supper

I see them flutter

Pirouette

Swoop

Watching the troupe

I see flying near-misses

But look: This one kisses

Her lake-mirrored image!

It's a natural act

A banquet on the wing

I see flutters and swoops

Daring dives and braided loops

It's a traveling circus!

In soft evening light

Acrobats flutter and feast

Lake mirrors their moves

And I am a sister

Reflecting.

© Karen Eastlund 2023

Have a fun Halloween, everyone!  And don't forget to join the gang for Poetry Friday. This week is hosted by Carol Labuzzetta... she's sharing more bat goodness!  Find it HERE.

Jack-o-Lanterns

I love to carve a pumpkin, no matter how the face turns out. The gooey pumpkin innards and the smell of singed pumpkin take me back to early days. I always have candle stubs to light inside and watch the flickering light. It's much spookier that way, but of course I have to be careful.  I suspect it's more fun for me than for the children who come to my door, but that's fine. It amuses me each year.

FACES!

Jack-o-lanterns' homemade faces

Teasing, grinning

Gleaming

Bright --

See them peek from

Sills and

Gates --

Will they spook us

On that

Night?

©  Karen Eastlund

Thanks to J. Patrick Lewis for this poetic form, called a zeno.  The syllable count is 8,4,2,1,4,2,1,4,2,1.

If you start practicing now, you can learn THIS SONG by Halloween.

 It's Poetry Friday!  Find the whole gang and their poetry offerings at Reading to the Core. Thanks to Catherine Flynn for hosting today and writing about the human urge to leave our mark.

A Monster at my Door

 Welcome friends! It's that time of year again... spooky sights appear all up and down my street, and yesterday, one showed up at my door.  What to do?  Write a poem, of course!

TREE MONSTER

A monster showed up

in my tree

It seems as if 

It laughs at me

It chomps its teeth

And blinks its eyes

But I'm not scared

It's no surprise

The night of rascals

Soon is here

When wizards, ghosts

And imps appear

When jack-o-lanterns

Wink and blink

When hoot owls hoot

And varmints slink

I'll play along

With all the fun

'Cuz soon enough...

       They'll all be gone!!!

© Karen Eastlund

In case you'd like to rehearse a Halloween song, here's a post from a few year's back with my attempt at scaring the bejeebers out of you!  Scary Halloween Song.

Thanks to the great Linda Baie for hosting our group today.  Find her spooky (dark and devilish) post here.  All the Poetry Friday gang will be sharing links at her place today. Don't miss the costume party!

Halloween 2020: Vegetables!!!

 Okay, let's face it... Halloween may not be to our liking this year. Yes, we are wearing masks, and some of us have been overdoing a bit on the candy, but that isn't really the point, right?  I did, however, get a cackle over this:

And speaking of vegetables, I helped with a pumpkin sale again this year. What is it about pumpkins? They always make me smile. Every one has a personality and a bright outfit. This one, for instance, seems to be blushing.

And this one is SO TALL!

What a swirl of delight!  

I learned this year that the gray-green ones are HEAVY!

But I do enjoy them... warts and all...

So... I took a challenge from Matt Forrest Esenwine and tried a triolet...

Pumpkins squat and bright and round

Gathered now in autumn's hold

Your droll expressions so renowned

Pumpkins squat and bright and round

What message in this fall playground?

Leave a seed! Shine your light! Be bold!

Pumpkins squat and bright and round

Gathered now in autumn's hold.

© Karen Eastlund

Join the Poetry Friday gang at Linda Baie's Teacher Dance for more Halloween fun.