by Colleen Anderson
servants of the hallows
succumb to sharp incisions
hollowed, scraped free
no seed for vines to come
on this night of many plains
flaming eyes light the passing
brighten the ancient path
silent pumpkins bide their time
guide from one world to the next
on the way to in-between
spirits bound in mystic dance
with living the aerial commune
no separation of night nor day
for those who’ve gone before
unnoticed gourds shift and watch
spectral doorways disappear
pumpkin smiles leer then snarl
gobble stragglers in the mist
spark extinguished, eyes now blank
husks and blood trails stain the earth
Jack o’ lantern laughter echoes
and distant wails fade with day
the veiling fog dissipates
pumpkins wait for another year
dreaming of the crops to come
My poetry has been nominated for the Aurora, Dwarf Stars and Rhysling Awards, and placed in the Crucible, Wax Poetry, Rannu, and Balticon contests. Some recent and forthcoming works are in Eternal Haunted Summer, Space and Time, Quaranzine, and Starline. My fiction collection, A Body of Work, was published by Black Shuck Books, UK. My poetry collection, I Dreamed a World, will be published later this year by Cycatrix Press. Online at colleenanderson.wordpress.com, on Instagram @Celdae.
