Darkness creeps
Fear seeps
Human sleeps
Spirit sneaks.
Graves reopen
Dead awoken
Tombs are broken
Terror unspoken.
Ghosts do ride
Far and wide
Those who died
Will not hide.
Stay in bed
Shun the dead
This night of dread
Till dark has fled.
If you liked my poems, this one comes from the book, From July to December. One Poem a Day, Book 2. You can buy it by clicking on the book cover in the sidebar.
Don’t go near the graveyard, darling.
Samhain is tonight.
Don’t go near the graveyard, darling.
The dead will walk this night.
Keep your candle burning, darling.
Keep it glowing bright.
Keep your candle burning darling.
Be sure it gives you light.
The bonfires have been lit, darling.
To fill the dark with light.
The bonfires have been lit, darling.
Their flames reach such a height.
Put your home fire out, darling.
Be sure to do it right.
Put your home fire out, darling.
From bonfires we’ll re-light.
Put food by the door, darling.
Leave it in plain sight.
Put food by the door, darling,
For our dead to have a bite.
Do not be afraid, darling.
They see that we’re alright.
Do not be afraid, darling.
No harm from them tonight.
But evil spirits come, darling.
We must put them to flight.
But evil spirits come, darling.
Them we must try to fight.
Go and watch the bonfires, darling.
Stand in their bright light.
Go and watch the bonfires, darling
To keep us safe this night.
This is another poem from Miscellaneous Thoughts. The book contains poems of a variety of kinds and of different themes. Click on the image in the sidebar to go to your favourite online store.
The moon has hidden her face tonight
Turned away from the Earth.
The clouds are scurrying away in fright
From what the night may give birth,
For tonight the veil is thin.
The wind is blowing the leaves around.
They hide in crannies and nooks.
Cowering, shivering, hope not to be found
By phantoms, ghosts and spooks,
For tonight the veil may tear.
Build a bonfire, create some light.
The spirits are afraid.
They like the shadows, shun what’s bright
And lurk within the shade
For tonight they cross the veil.
Ghouls and spectres, wraiths and shades
Return to Earth tonight.
We’re filled with dread as daylight fades.
The smallest sound will give us fright
For tonight the veil has gone.
If you like my poems, please comment in the comments box. This and the other poems can be found in my poetry book, Miscellaneous Thoughts. You can buy it by clicking on the highlighted text or the book cover in the sidebar.
There were several festivals that were held by the ancient pagan Celts, one of which was Samhain (pronounced Sowain). In order to wean them away from their pagan worship, Pope Gregory III, in the 8th Century, established November 1st, which had been the pagan New Year, as All Saints’ Day, and November 2nd as All Souls’ Day (all those Christians who had died unknown).
Thus there was a link to Samhain because it was thought by the pagan people that the dead could return to their old homes to visit their descendants. Sometimes an extra place was set at the table and food left for them.
They also believed that devils, demons and the like could also come, and so they lit bonfires to scare them away. (UK residents note that we have a remnant of those bonfires on November 5th.)
This poem references the thought that our dead loved ones can visit us on this night.
This poem refers to my father who died when I was just three years old.
I Died.
I didn’t want to go.
I left my wife and daughter so
I cried.
I thought
I could no longer see
All their future without me.
I fought.
I found
That each All Hallows Eve,
I could return—I need not grieve.
Not bound.
I come
To them each Hallowe’en.
They do not know. I am not seen.
I’m dumb.
They live
And I surround them both
With all my love. I am not loath
To give.
Here ends my tale.
I will be filled with endless glee
When they come to dwell with me
Beyond the veil.
As it’s Halloween week, I thought I’d post a few of my Halloween poems. I’m going to post one each day until Halloween itself.
The wind it blows cold.
Like ice down my back.
I try to be bold,
But courage I lack.
In the haunted house.
It seemed such a lark
When we set off tonight.
But now it’s gone dark
And we shiver with fright
In the haunted house.
Jane said. ‘We’ll have fun
On Hallowe’en night.’
But when slow footsteps come
She screams out in fright
In the haunted house.
‘Let’s take candles,’ said Pete.
‘More authentic for light.
And something to eat
If we’re staying all night
In the haunted house.’
Jack thinks it’s a game
Till the candles blow out.
Not one single flame.
He gave a loud shout
In the haunted house.
The temperature sinks.
‘That means ghosts are here,’
Said Pete, who still thinks
There’s nothing to fear
In the haunted house.
The door starts to creak.
It opens so slow.
Our knees have gone weak.
I wish we could go
From the haunted house.
But nothing is there
As we huddle in fear.
Not one of us dare
To get up and peer
In the haunted house.
All night there are groans.
We hear footsteps, we swear,
And the rattle of bones.
Something is there
In the haunted house.
We laugh at our fear
As we make our way home.
In daylight it’s clear
No spirits do roam
In the haunted house.
The noises we heard?
Just the sounds of a house
Cooling down, and a bird
Not one single ghost
In the haunted house.
Do you celebrate Halloween? How do you celebrate?
Image by FindingSR from Pixabay
In the year 1605, a group of Roman Catholics plotted to overthrow the king.
The king in question was James 1st of England (6th of Scotland) who had come to the throne after the death of the childless Elizabeth 1.
The catholics had hoped that the religious persecution they had suffered under the previous monarch would abate, but that proved to be a false hope. They therefore plotted to kill the king and put his daughter, 9 year old Elizabeth, on the throne.
The plan was to blow up the Houses of Parliament on November 5th during the State Opening, when the king would be present. Then they planned a revolt in the Midlands.
The plan was to plant explosives beneath the House of Lords.
In charge of this was a man called Guy Fawkes. He had been a soldier in the Spanish Netherlands and had 10 years of experience fighting there, so he was deemed a good person to have charge of explosives.
On 26th October, an anonymous letter was sent to William Parker, 4th Baron Monteagle, a Catholic member of Parliament. He reported this to the authorities.
On November 5th, a search was made of the cellars and GuyFawkes was discovered guarding 36 barrels of gunpowder.
On learning that they plot had been discovered, the other 11 conspirators fled London, Some made a last stand, and only 8 were brought to justice. They were hanged, drawn and quartered.
For many years, the thwarting of the plot was celebrated by the ringing of bells, but nowadays in Britain, we hold firework displays and light bonfires on which we burn an effigy of Guy Fawkes.
For many years, I and others thought that Guy Fawkes had been burned at the stake. So we were told, anyway, but that wasn’t the case. He was hanged, drawn and quartered like the other conspirators.
So why the bonfires and burning of an effigy? Well, it’s all become mixed up with the Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sowin). In the Celtic pagan times it was believed that the veil between the living and the dead became thin, as I’m sure you all know. It was the end of harvest and the start of the Celtic New Year. This was celebrated on November 1st, but as the Celts began their day at sunrise, in our calendar it is the night of October 31st. They extinguished their home fires, and lit a bonfire to scare away the evil spirits.
The Christian Church, naturally, didn’t like this and designated the 1st of November as All Hallows. However, the habits remained to pass to us as Halloween.
But the bonfires weren’t part of that, so they got moved in the UK to November 5th and linked to the Gunpowder Plot.
Why do we burn an effigy of Guy Fawkes? Well, I’ve not been able to definitely confirm it, but I’ve come across, in the past, the view that the Celts performed Human Sacrifice on this day and burned a person (alive or dead, I don’t know) to ensure the new crops would succeed and they would have a good harvest. This could easily have been transformed into the burning of an effigy of one of the conspirators.
One thing that does seem to have disappeared, though, is the ‘penny for the guy.’ Children, during the runup to Bonfire Night, used to make a ‘guy’ out of old clothes and go and sit on the street with it in order to raise money to buy fireworks. Passers by would drop money into a hat. I remember this happening since we’ve lived in our current house, where we moved in 2002, so it’s only recently stopped.
So, in my opinion, Bonfire Night is a mixture of Samhain and a celebration of the thwarting of a plot to kill the king.
NB: In 1649, James 1 son, Charles 1, was executed at the end of the English Civil War, but it wasn’t the catholics who benefitted, but the puritans. So a king was killed after all.
Please leave any comments in the comments box.
Image by ApplesPC from Pixabay
As it’s Halloween today, I thought I’d write a little poem to celebrate it. We don’t do as much for Halloween in the U.K. as the people of the US do, but it’s beginning to creep in here. This year I’ve noticed a few people have decorated their houses.
Halloween
Witches gather their broomsticks
Putting on pointy hats.
Devils creep out from hell
As spiders build their webs.
Ghosts walk the streets
And skeletons leave their graves
Jack O’Lanterns grin
With fiery eyes that glow
A cold wind blows the leaves
As we shiver in our homes.
The darkness seems to creep
Beneath the gap below the door.
Ghostly sounds are heard.
And the doorbell rings
We huddle together in fear.
What horrors await outside?
We creep towards the door
And open it with care.
The ghosts and skeletons jump
Towards us with a screech.
The witches cackle loudly,
Jack O’Lantern held up high.
Then come the words we know
Image by Nisse Andersson from Pixabay
This is a new poem, but if you enjoyed it and would like to read more. simply click on the image in the side bar.
Currently, Next Chapter, my publisher, has discounts for people who buy 2 or more books in a series from Google Play Store
No coupon code is needed for these discounts: all customers who find Next Chapter books in the Google Play Store are able to use these discounts (as long as they buy 2 or more books in any one series at the same time).
Here’s a link to my One Poem a Day series if you are interested.
When the Hallowe’en Poetry Contest arrived once more, I was stuck for ideas, having done it for the last 4 years. I needed inspiration.
I didn’t want to go down the ‘isn’t it a fun holiday’ route because I don’t think it is. It’s All Hallows Eve, the night before All Saints’ Day when the Christian Church celebrates all the saints who have died before.
It’s also Samhain, when the pre-Christian religion celebrated their ancestors and welcomed them into their homes.
My father died when I was very small. I only have a few vague memories of him, and so I decided to write a poem thinking of him, and, if the pre-Christians are right, he would come to visit me every year.
I hope you enjoy this. I know it’s a bit late for Hallowe’en, but never mind!
I Died.
I didn’t want to go.
I left my wife and daughter so
I cried.
I thought
I could no longer see
All their future without me.
I fought.
I found
That each All Hallows Eve,
I could return—I need not grieve.
Not bound.
I come
To them each Hallowe’en.
They do not know. I am not seen.
I’m dumb.
They live
And I surround them both
With all my love which I’m not loath
To give.
Here ends my tale.
I will be filled with endless glee
When they come to dwell with me
Beyond the veil.
I wrote this poem for a Hallowe’en poetry contest. Wish me luck.
The wind it blows cold
Like ice down my back.
I try to be bold,
But courage I lack.
In the haunted house.
It seemed such a lark
When we set off tonight.
But now it’s gone dark
And we shiver with fright
In the haunted house.
Jane said. ‘We’ll have fun
On Hallowe’en night.’
But when solw footsteps come
She screams out in fright
In the haunted house.
‘Let’s take candles, said Pete.
More authentic for light.
And something to eat
If we’re staying all night
In the haunted house.’
Jack thinks it’s a game
Till the candles blow out.
Not one single flame.
He gave a loud shout
In the haunted house.
The temperature sinks.
‘That means ghosts are here,’
Said Pete, who still thinks
There’s nothing to fear
In the haunted house.
The door starts to creak.
It opens so slow.
Our knees feel so weak.
I wish we could go
From the haunted house.
But nothing is there
As we huddle in fear.
Not one of us dare
To get up and peer
In the haunted house.
All night there are groans.
We hear footsteps, we swear,
And the rattle of bones.
Something is there
In the haunted house.
We laugh at our fear
As we make our way home.
In daylight it’s clear
No spirits do roam
In the haunted house.
The noises we heard?
Just the sounds of a house
Cooling down, and a bird.
Not one single ghost
In the haunted house.
I hope you enjoyed this poem as much as I enjoyed writing it. Please leave a comment in the comments section. I love to hear from you.
Samhain is the pagan pre-curser to what we now call Hallowe’en. It was thought that on the nights of the equinox the veil separating the world of the dead from our own world thinned, and the dead could come through.
Not all the dead were consindered scary, though. The people thought that their recent dead visited them, and they put out food, or set an extra place at the table to accommodate them. These dead came to see their loved ones were going on alright.
Evil spirits, though, could come through, too, and so bonfires were lit to keep them at bay. The home fires were put out, too, to be relit the following day from the bonfires.
Pope Gregory decided that some of the pagan dates should be incorporated into the Christian calendar as psople were used to celebrating on those days. Samhain was one of these. The Pope designated it to be All Saint’s Day, hence the night before became All Hallow’s Eve. (Hallows being another word for ‘holy’ or ‘saint’.)
Pope Gregory also fixed the date of Christmas to co-incide with the pagan festival of Yule, and turned some of the pagan gods into saints. He also used pagan worshiping sites to build Christian churches, on the same principal. People were used to going there to worship.
Here is a poem I wrote for Samhain. I hope you like it.
SAMHAIN
Don’t go near the graveyard, darling,
Samain is tonight.
Don’t go near the graveyard, darling,
The dead will walk this night.
Keep your candle burning, darling,
Keep it glowing bright.
Keep your candle burning, darling,
Be sure it gives you light.
The bonfires have been lit, darling,
To fill the dark with light.
The bonfires have been lit, darling,
Their flames reach such a height.
Put your home fires out, darling.
Be sure to do it right.
Put your home fires out, darling.
From bonfires we’ll relight.
Put food by the door, darling.
Leave it in plain sight.
Put food by the door, darling.
For our own to have a bite.
Do not be afraid, darling,
They see that we’re alright.
Do not be afraid, darling,
No harm from them tonight.
But evil spirits come, darling.
We must put them to flight.
But evil spirits come, darling;
Them we must try to fight.
Go and watch the bonfires, darling.
Stand in their bright light.
Go and watch the bonfires, darling,
They keep us safe this night.
I hope you enjoyed my poem. Please leave a comment.
Dragons Rule OK. V.M.Sang (author) 