At Halloween Poem by Denis Martindale

At Halloween, when nightmares start
And all things go awry
And there come strains upon the heart
Such that we're prone to die
And all at once a startling sound
Leaps like a lion's pounce,
It's then hobgoblins come around
And when your courage counts!

At Halloween, when ghoulies go
About the business here
And howling storms begin to grow
And growl as if with fear
And lightning strikes both Man and tree
And beast that's in the field,
It's then the ghosts are plain to see
With nothing left concealed!

At Halloween, when witches fly
On broomsticks high above
And brave old dogs begin to cry
When they've all seen enough
And little girls and little boys
Are told to go to sleep,
It's then the vampires steal their toys
And all their trinkets keep!

At Halloween, when warlocks scheme
To bring all kinds of hells
And sorcerers join as a team
As wizards cast their spells
And leprechauns protect their gold
And to the death they'll fight,
It's then policemen aren't so bold
And won't go out at night!

At Halloween, when mortals pray
For sunshine once again
And for the moon to pass away
Till noon's struck by Big Ben
And scaredy cats are mortified
By teeny weeny mice,
It's then your eyes are open wide
If you're touched by surprise!

At Halloween, I stay in bed!
I won't go out at all!
The blankets hide my trembling head!
I can't stand, walk or crawl!
The lights stay on all through the night!
I play the music loud!
Of course, I know I look a sight...
But so would you, no doubt!


Denis Martindale, copyright, October 2011.

Poem accepted for publication in 2012 by
Forward Poetry, Peterborough, England.