Tuesday, October 30, 2012

X-tra Scary Halloween: A Ghostly Tale

©2012 Susan Noyes Anderson

One All Hallow's Eve, we got dressed up like ghosts
and went down to the graveyard at night.
Two of my buddies and I were excited
to give our kid brothers a fright.
Our town's cemetery was right on the way
to the homes that gave out the best treats.
We remembered how scary those shadowed tombs seemed,
so we lay in wait, cloaked in white sheets.
With the sun sinking down and the moon rising high and
no brothers as yet, we got bored.
My friend, Jack, let loose on two girls with a moan,
but his efforts to scare were ignored.
As more kids went by, we helped Jack out a bit
with a chorus of howls, wails, and shrieks.
We laughed when a glance at our ghastly attire
stole the color right out of their cheeks.
Still no brothers in view, but we had lots to do.
We were scaring those punks off their feet!
At times, we stayed hidden and screeched like the dead.
Other times, we chased them down the street.
This was Halloween fun to the maxTricks, not treats.
We could terrorize toddlers forever.
Some ran for their lives; a few fell down and cried.
It was SICK. Our best Halloween ever!!
We were kings of the graveyard––the ghosts with the mostest.
Dude, we had fake haunting perfected.
Our screams were so chilling, our sighs so unearthly
not one of our victims suspected.
The night was our stage. Maybe we could do better...
make even the older kids squeal!
A new sound erupted from Jack, and I grinned.
Super spooky! This guy was for real.
Jack's groan was so gruesome, in fact, that it made 
every hair on my head stand up straight.
I looked his direction to flash the thumbs-up,
but I froze when my gaze caught the gate.
The creepy old gate to the crypts glowed blood red,
gargoyles beckoning, urging me near.
The temperature dropped and grew cold as dry ice,
while green mist floated in, thick as fear.
I tried to resist, but that putrid green mist
entered me with its mind-numbing chill.
It crept up my back, and it lodged in my brain
till it robbed me of freedom and will.
I made myself focus both eyes on the gate.
Big mistake. What I saw made me moan.
It was Jack. He was hanging there, feet off the ground,
with his flesh eaten down to the bone.
His form was more skeleton now and less ghost.
Pitch-black eyes had rolled back in his head.
And the creature beside him was every bad nightmare
that ever filled children with dread.
In horror, I clutched at our other friend’s hand,
but Dan pushed me away and cried, “JAAAACK!
Dan started towards him, but when the ground opened,
Dan took off and never looked back.
I would have run, too, but my legs wouldn’t work.
I was paralyzed, frozen by fear.
The graves were releasing their dead, and the sound
of their keening was awful to hear.
Zombies and wraiths slipped around me and through me.
Worms passed in and out of my skin.
My soul turned to ice, and my heart beat in rhythms
of terror, as evil crept in.
I was lost, and I knew it. Was this how Jack felt
when they took him and made him their own?
Would the fiends claim my body forever? I could not
withstand them much longer alone.
And then came The Voice. Distant, yet so familiar
it entered my spirit like gold.
 “Hey guys, whatcha doin’? Are you in the graveyard??
We heard what you did, and WE TOLD!
“You’re really in trouble, especially Jack.
All our friends said that he was so mean.
"You’re gonna be grounded. You shoulda known better
than scaring us on Halloween.”
It was my little brother! The punk sounded good,
like the trill of a silvery flute.
His whining and tattling almost seemed welcome,
compared to the grave’s grim salute.
Salvation was ours in an instant. There’s nothing
so fearful as women prepared
to teach their kids lessons that they need to know.
Watch out, phantoms! NO ONE would be spared.
The underworld quaked as my mother’s "mad" voice
mowed down demons and devils and ghouls.
“You get out here this instant! All three of you. NOW.
Did you think that your mothers were fools?”
Jack slid off the gate, re-embodied himself,
and walked over to me with a smile.
The undead had fled to their graves, quite undone, so
we hugged and high-fived for a while.
Nearby a bush rustled, and out of the dark
came the third of our three musketeers.
“I couldn’t just leave, so I came back and hid,”
Dan said softly. We met him with cheers!
“All for one, one for all,” were the words that we said,
and we meant them, in good times or bad.
We spent the next 14 days stuck in the house.
And you know what? We felt mostly glad. 
 No more ghostly graveyards or hauntings for us,
just a tip from my terrorized crew...
(Heed it well, or this day you will rue.)

NEXT TIME, THEY COULD BE COMING FOR YOU!

Don't pass by a graveyard until the sun shines.
Take warning from s-h-i-v-e-r-y chills up your spines.
Be kind to small children, whatever you do, and
BEWARE what you wear. Sometimes, costumes come true!



With lots of love and plenty of scary good wishes
to our awesomely gruesome grandchildren
from
Ghostma and Ghoulpa Anderson

=)

If you like this one, check out the ones from past years:

2009
2010
2011

for more X(tra scary) posts, click below

Monday, October 29, 2012

the kiss


the kiss

toe to toe
in the mist
heart to heart
perfect bliss
lip to lip
can't resist

who cares about rain
at a time like this

©2012 susan noyes anderson


Oh, what a magical magpie prompt we have today! Thanks, Tess.

My annual Halloween story poem will be be posted tomorrow.


(I feel the need to add that my levity on the subject of rain does not extend to Sandy and the havoc she is wreaking. Hope all of you are safe and dry somewhere. We are praying that damage and loss will be as limited as possible.)

click below for more magpie offerings

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Dancing in the Streets


This photo was taken down the street from my son's house in the Sunset district of San Francisco, where everyone in town seems to be celebrating our World Series victory. What a GREAT team! Two wins in three years. No wonder we are so proud of them.


Parade on Wednesday!!!
Halloween just got even more exciting.
(And the color scheme is right, too.)


WORLD CHAMPS!

=)


PS. At such a happy time for people in the Bay area, we are mindful of so many on the other side of the country who are in jeopardy from hurricane Sandy. Please know that you are in our prayers. This storm sounds out of the ordinary, and I am hoping for the best possible outcome for everyone impacted by it.

A Eulogy in Five Words



I admit to being a little late with my Saturday Centus today, but I got all caught up in writing my annual Halloween poem for the grandkids (soon to be posted)...and then it was time to watch our SF Giants win the third game in their quest for the pennant. Such an exciting time for all of us in the Bay area! Anyway, as you can see, Jenny has given us a picture prompt today, and for some reason it took me in a prose-y direction. A 100-word limit doesn't quite do this lovely photo justice, does it?

∞§∞

A Eulogy in Five Words Pumpkins
© 2012 Susan Noyes Anderson

Sadie grew up loving pumpkins, and she knew her way around one, too. Why, that woman could scrape the insides of those curious orange globes and make pie or soup or custard or cookies as pretty as you please. She even roasted the seeds for good measure, though she gave those away more often than she ate them, wrapped up in cheesecloth bags and tied with ribbon. Sea salt was the secret. Our Sadie always did favor a personal gift, one she could make with her own hands. And if nature helped out a little along the way, so much the better.

I loved her for the way she loved me. Without reservation, and frequently with pumpkin pudding.


∞§∞

Thursday, October 25, 2012

A Wondrous Walk through All Things Fall

There's nothing like a walk through fall

with crunchy leaves beneath your feet

to make you grateful for the call

of nature, with her gifts so sweet.

A crisp green apple in your hand,

the crunchy blast of nectar tart,

the joy of feasting from a tree

instead of fruit bins at the mart.

The hunt, the choosing, and the pride

of gathering (held deep inside)

is ancient as an autumn rune

and full as any harvest moon.

Tradition is the purest fun;

once families worked till day was done,

preparing for the winter nigh

beneath a fading autumn sky.

And when their labors were complete,

they thanked the Lord for food to eat

and took each offering from His hand

with gratitude for life and land.

(My grandchildren love their traditions.)

=)

Happy birthday to our son, Matt, who also happens to be the 
father of these great kids and the husband of the photographer!

for more W posts, click below