Once upon a stormy night,
it was a dark and dreary time.
Did you hear the one about…
You’re not going to believe this rhyme.
It all begins on Halloween,
this scary tale I’ve yet to weave.
I do not know the ending yet;
it took so long, the start to leave.
I’m sure there’re bats and witch’s brew,
lightning crackling in the sky,
the mournful howls of shrouded souls,
an icy breeze when ghosts glide by.
Something frightening will occur,
a horrid nightmare come to life.
We must escape impending doom.
A curse? a ghoul? a bloodied knife?
Though terror strikes, Good will prevail.
Ghosts disappear with dawn’s first light.
We’ll be forewarned of danger still
in shadows deep on stormy nights.
And so it ends, as all tales do.
The rest is history as they say.
We all live happily ever more.
We live to fight another day.
The details of this scary tale —
as sketchy as they seem to be —
are yours to conjure in your mind
and fill the blanks in as you please.
If any moral lies herein,
I leave that point for you to hone.
The yarns I spin unravel fast.
Collect the threads and weave your own.
Cute! Love the rambling lack of detail, which allows me to fill in the blanks with stuff that’s not scary.
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Thanks! I’ve been trying to find not-too-scary Halloween movies on Netflix, but apparently there’s no market for that for anyone over the age of 6. Oh, well.
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Nothing like the yarn unraveling. I like this line: “The yarns I spin unravel fast.”
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Thank you.
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ah you have a fan in me! I love stories that hide more than they tell, my imagination fills in the gaps. I was carried along and now a scary tale brews in my mind. moral? don’t read spooky tales in the dark! good one!
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And don’t write scary stories in the dark!
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oh definitely!
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This poem has a very mysterious feel. I liked the clever invitation in this verse for the reader to weave a bit of magic.
The details of this scary tale —
as sketchy as they seem to be —
are yours to conjure in your mind
and fill the blanks in as you please.
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Yes, the writer shouldn’t get all the fun!
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YES! Fun and timely take on the prompt! BOO to this line in particular:
“the mournful howls of shrouded souls,
an icy breeze when ghosts glide by.”
Love how you turn it over to the reader in the last two stanzas.
So glad you wrote to the prompt – a really fun one to read!
Once upon a Halloween……..
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Thank you! A fun one to write, as well. You came up with a great prompt!
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I can relate to the struggle with the beginning – and then you took off. Well done. Hallowe’en is great fodder for poems.
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It certainly is!
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I love the encouragement to weave our own tale. Beautiful words for life and Halloween.
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Thank you! Hopefully our life story wouldn’t be as scary 🙂
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Try as I might to end this tale,
My daily life keeps creeping in.
Do I have enough candy for this night?
For a child’s wrath is far worse than fiction. 🙂
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Hahaha! Very good! I just let Chules scare them all away!
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Oh I love it, but especially the horror details… great pace that begs to be read aloud.
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Thank you.
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A fun read with great rhythm and rhyme!
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Thank you!
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This is so clever, Maggie. I love it!
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Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed it.
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