All Hallows' Evening
Cold sunken ground does not deny the heat of death
Nor pumpkins dull the horror of this hallowed eve
of ghoulish creatures basking in the fetid breath
condemned to roam together yet alone to grieve.
They rise upon this hallowed eve to dance in time
Tip the tarnished mug of grog as they did before
Their skeletons a timpani, a windblown chime
Clatter in the darkness of this night they abhor.
They torment passing souls on this their evil night
Reaching in agony to touch the edge of life
Moving as shadowed vapors in and out of sight
Soldiers denied sad honor of the drum and fife.
As distant church bells chime to mark the break of dawn
They sink into the darkness from which they were drawn.
John G. Lawless
©10/25/2022
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