Halloween Poetry

Happy Halloween! What are you up to today? I'm busy making shrunken heads out of old apples for a party on Saturday and putting the last few touches on to my costume. It's such a good excuse to have some fun!

I wanted to post something suitably spooky and decided upon...Tim Burton! I love watching his films this time of year, but I wondered how many of you knew he had written and illustrated a book of poetry? It's very suitable reading for today, and is full of his trademark creepy, gothic fun. You can read his collection online: The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy.

And here's one of the poems: Mummy Boy

He wasn't soft and pink

witha fat little tummy;

he was hard and hollow,

a little boy mummy.

"Tell us, please, Doctor,

the reason or cause,

why our gundle of joy

is just a bundle of gauze."

"My diagnosis," he said

"for better or worse,

is that your son is the result

of an old pharoah's curse."

That night they talked

of their son's odd condition-

they called him "a reject

from an archaeological expidition."

They thought of some complex

scientific explanation,

but assumed it was simple

supernatural reincarnation.

With the other young tots

he only played twice,

an ancient game of vergin sacrifice.

(But the kids ran away, saying, "You aren't very nice.")

alone and rejected, Mummy Boy wept,

then went to the cabinet

where the snack food was kept.

He wiped his wet slockets with his mummified sleeves,

and sat down to a bowl of sugar-frosted tanna leaves.

One dark, gloomy day,

from out of the fog,

appeared a little white mummy dog.

For his newfound wrapped pet,

he did many things,

like building a dog house

à la Pryimid of kings.

It was late in day-

just before dark.

Mummy Boy took his dog

for a walk in the park.

The park was empty

except for a squirrel,

and a birthday party for a Mexican girl.

The boys and girls had all started to play,

but noticed that thing that looked like a papíer mâché.

"Look its a píñata,"

said one of the boys,

"Let's crack it wide open

and get the candy and toys."

They took a baseball bat

and whacked open his head.

Mummy Boy fell to the ground;

he finally was dead.

Inside of his head

were no candy or prizes,

jast a few stray bettles

of various sizes.

Let nature be your teacher

Ah, I feel the shift! The leaves have begun to change colour, the temperature has dropped, and the first crisp chills have started to hang in the morning air...

by IgnisFatuusll @ dA

I'm sure I say it every year, and with every change in season...but I feel as though I must carry on sharing this feeling, because it is just too uplifting and inspiring to contain! I want to be out connecting with nature and finding inspiration in the wild places! I want to find a way to capture all the feelings of autumn in words! I love the way everything is on fire, and yet it can be so cold...it's magical!
Each year my birthday becomes more and more entwined with celebrating the first day of autumn, as I can welcome in the new season along with a new year of my life. Perhaps that explains why autumn is my favourite season - I'm an autumn baby!

As I am struggling to express all my crazy nature-loving feelings, and as I am using far too many exclamation marks in proportion to the number of words on the page, I've included a poem by William Wordsworth who, as always, says it best...

THE TABLES TURNED

AN EVENING SCENE ON THE SAME SUBJECT

        UP! up! my Friend, and quit your books;
          Or surely you'll grow double:
          Up! up! my Friend, and clear your looks;
          Why all this toil and trouble?

          The sun, above the mountain's head,
          A freshening lustre mellow
          Through all the long green fields has spread,
          His first sweet evening yellow.

          Books! 'tis a dull and endless strife:
          Come, hear the woodland linnet,                             
          How sweet his music! on my life,
          There's more of wisdom in it.

          And hark! how blithe the throstle sings!
          He, too, is no mean preacher:
          Come forth into the light of things,
          Let Nature be your teacher.

          She has a world of ready wealth,
          Our minds and hearts to bless--
          Spontaneous wisdom breathed by health,
          Truth breathed by cheerfulness.                             

          One impulse from a vernal wood
          May teach you more of man,
          Of moral evil and of good,
          Than all the sages can.

          Sweet is the lore which Nature brings;
          Our meddling intellect
          Mis-shapes the beauteous forms of things:--
          We murder to dissect.

          Enough of Science and of Art;
          Close up those barren leaves;                               
          Come forth, and bring with you a heart
          That watches and receives.

Happy Halloween!

The pumpkins are out in full force tonight, and I love the originality in the faces people carve. I went traditional and spiky...because I'm not very good at carving them. I did manage to nearly set it on fire when a candle split inside it though, which gave me a fright at least.

Pumpkins also mean pumpkin pie, pumpkin soup, and toasted pumpkin seeds. Yummy! There's something that satisfies my soul and creative urges when I can cook with seasonal veg. I'm sure I've talked about it before, but creating something from start to finish satisfies creativity when you're stuck on a project where the end is nowhere in sight. I think that valuable idea came from The Artist's Way. It's made me gain a few pounds, I must admit!

As I write this there's a special Halloween themed Story Scavenger event taking place in Brighton, but if you don't make it there will once again be free creative writing workshops every Thursday at the cafe in Waterstones on North Street.

This time last year I entered the Writer's Weekly 24-hour short story contest, and won a small prize. Seasonal themes really do get creative juices flowing, it seems. I suppose because you're surrounded by the season and can relate to it in some way, you're in the mood, you can tap into your feelings more easily, and the 24-hour challenge seems slightly less daunting! 

I mention this because it was the first writing success I had, so I have something personal to celebrate today, along with the normal festivities!

Whether you're celebrating Halloween, Samhain or the Day of the Dead over the next two days, have a lovely holiday x

Autumn has arrived!

Today is officially the start of Autumn! It is my favourite season by a mile - I don't know whether it's due to the vibrant colours, the crisp bite of the early morning air, or all the squashes and pumpkins coming into season...or maybe Halloween. Any excuse to dress up and have a laugh!

Whatever it is, there's something about the season that makes me feel creative, comfortable, and even somewhat spiritual. Perhaps it has something to do with being a child and starting back at school, and every year being certain it would be a 'fresh start' and that I could 'reinvent myself'. There is a definite air of possibility, which I think most people would find strange because they would associate that with Spring...

But how can you not love this time of year?

These are some of my favourite pictures from Autumns past... bring on the pumpkins!

For any fellow writers in Brighton that may stumble across this page, Story Scavenger is running a special Halloween night of ghost-story writing. There are also free evening courses every Thursday at the Costa coffee shop in Waterstones, North Street. 

Happy Autumn everyone! x