Under a Cold October Sky

 

Halloween Walk        Leigh Ann Lilly

Here's a great seasonal poem by David Haven:

Under the cold October Sky

By David Haven

Under the cold October sky
as the veil of Samhain grows thin
the seasons of planting and harvest are gone
and fall’s in the air again.
When summer has passed into Autumn chill
and the days ever shorter go by
spirits arise and they roam the earth
under the cold night sky.

All through the long and the lonely night
like restless waves on the sand
the moon in the sky with the clouds drifting by
make shadows pass over the land.
Outside of the window see them moving
from leaves swaying in the breeze.
Some of them seem to reach out and grab
like the bare crooked branches of trees.
Some shadows are cast by a firelight
and they flicker and dance on the ground
But some shadows are from dead things
that rise from their graves
when they get up and walk around!

Down a dark and lonely road
a graveyard stands alone
with fallen leaves all scattered around
among the grey tombstones.
Where weeds and brambles freely grow
without a soul to care
with unbroken solitude
for the living rarely enter there.

All through the heat of summer days
the wind there blows a chill
although the sun is pressing down
and all is quiet and still.
Sunlight and shadows dance and play
in movements through the trees
and the voices of the dead speak

soft

as a whisper on a breeze.

But summer days have fled away.
The fields are bare and cold.
And eventide comes quicker
as the year is growing old.
As night descends on hearth and home
and evening shadows grow
from the cold and dark folks gather
around the fireside glow.
When those to their houses for refuge have gone
and the windows and doors have been fastened tight.
When shadows appear on the ceilings and walls
from the flickering candle lights.

Locked windows and doors may keep thieves away
Intruders that murder and steal.
And the wind and the rain or the sleet and the snow
are kept out at the window seal.
As the veil that separates the world
of the living and dead grows thin
no window or door although fastened tight
keep the dead from entering in!