Sunday 29 October 2017

Jack o' Lantern

Samhain, Night of the Dead, All Hallow's Eve, Halloween, call it what you will. A scary time when ghouls and ghosts return to earth. However, for many an enigmatic time when our parallel worlds a-line for a short while so we may reconnect with passed souls.

Jack o' Lantern

Jack o’ Lantern sits on the old oak sill;
scary hollowed eyes blaze orangey bright.
Circle cast with hawthorn, and all is still,
even-tide folds to the darkening night.

A soul long passed we'll merry meet once more
and ride as one on the winds of winter;
the biting chill, no match; for love will thaw.
Jack o’ Lantern wards dark spirits thither.

And now the time is nigh to bid goodbye,
we’ll meet again on the wheel’s full turn.
So the sun rises in the eastern sky
Jack o’ Lanterns eyes, dead, no longer burn. 

Now Jack o' Lantern your work is complete
back to Will-o-the Wisp on the bogs of peat.

© Julian Clarke 2017

Notes
A new piece I penned for this season and is loosely inspired by Irish mythology.

Linked to Poets United Sunday Pantry



19 comments:

  1. All the flavour of the season!

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  2. the rhythm is spellbinding! marvellously mythological and seasonal
    "A soul long passed we'll merry meet once more
    and ride as one on the winds of winter;"

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  3. I think "we'll meet again on the wheel's full turn" is a great line, Julian. A well-timed poem for Halloween.

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  4. Nice Halloween celebration here. Lovely.

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  5. I love the rhythm of this poem, can see the pumpkin in all his glory, then, next day cast away on the peat bogs. I always love to see them, grinning from odd places, after halloween.

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  6. Love this in sonnet format, and that end with the will-o-the-wisps (that some call corpselight is wonderful)

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  7. This is a cracking write Julian, took me back to the more traditional Halloweens we celebrated as kids.

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  8. "even-tide folds to the darkening night."

    My favourite line

    Have a nice Sunday Julian

    Much💖love...

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  9. Ah, the jack-o-lantern indeed has a short season....its eyes 'burning' for a very short time! But a necessity in the dead of a Halloween night! I enjoyed this, Julian.

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  10. I absolutely love this tribute to the Jack-o-Lantern and All Hallows Eve! Well written.

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  11. Julian I really love this Halloween poem....like an eerie song, with haunting laughter! Really first rate...

    'And now the time is nigh to bid goodbye,
    we’ll meet again on the wheel’s full turn.
    So the sun rises in the eastern sky
    Jack o’ Lanterns eyes, dead, no longer burn.'

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  12. Wonderfully written! Such a deft touch with just-the-right-words to make the piece 'pop'. Great job on the rhyme. A pleasure to read.

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  13. It is that time of year thank you for your Jack o' Lantern poem.

    Jack o’ Lantern sits on the old oak sill;
    scary hollowed eyes blaze orangey bright.

    they really can be a bit scary, at least I think so.

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  14. "even-tide folds to the darkening night" love that one I don't know much about Halloween but really got into the spirit of it in you poem.

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  15. Delightfully scary!!!
    Thanks for linking to Monday WRites

    much love...

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  16. The rhyme works.You have set the mood for all souls day.

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  17. This is really a wonderful sonnet. Plus bonus points for orangey... terrific.

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  18. That is a lovely ending for all involved. :-)

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