Thursday, October 29, 2020

Poetry Friday - Ring the Doorbell! Halloween Practice

           Welcome everyone to a pre-Halloween party! Although this holiday is going to be different this year, it's still good to prepare with candy, ready for the children who still might ring that doorbell! Happy Halloween!

            Many decorations in my neighborhood differ this year. I have enjoyed what is out there and took a picture of one that brought a smile. The kindnesses around us are there if we only pay attention. I am grateful for this neighbor's thoughtful Halloween shout-out to all!











Remember that the tinman was looking for a heart!

           I love Halloween and sadly this week, with new restrictions in Denver, warnings about Trick or Treating being unsafe have been announced. My small neighborhood group had planned a parade in our little park with all of us ready to see wonderful costumes and give out candy bags --all canceled. I will drop some bags on some porches of those who have shared their addresses, but that's about it this year.

           I've tried to stay away from politics but have written a little bit into my poems. Yes, I wrote two, a nostalgic one for the adults and one that's more fun for children. Wishing you a nice holiday full of treats however full of tricks it seems to have!

In My Mind - Prose Poem

 

       How swiftly days shorten when October begins its frosty cold. Trees reveal their wild growth of tangles via shakedowns. Then we know that All Hallows’ Eve must be preparing its own mysteries of creaks in the crannies

to welcome children on the sidewalks. They hold hands with Mom and Dad, ring doorbells, shout “Trick or Treat”. They are prepped to say “Thank you” but do it only after peeking in the sack when they glimpse the KitKats and Snickers, M&Ms and Milky Ways. Ah, sweet time to come. They scurry away, and I notice big smiles on everyone’s faces especially Mom’s and Dad’s. Remember?

It exists for all of us,

not to lose,

but to celebrate –

this thing called Halloween.

                             Linda Baie ©


Still Halloween 

 

Now we speak of masks that mean

helping others sight unseen,

but I desire one scary day,

All Hallows’ Eve, the children’s way.

 

To neighbor’s doors on tiptoe feet

ready to shout out trick or treat;

dodging shadows that alarm,

racing by to keep from harm.   

 

Tiny heroes, ghosts, and clowns,

traipsing all around the town,

costumed in the latest fad,

holding hands with Mom and Dad.

 

They want this night to last and last         

but jack ‘o lanterns’ lights dim fast.

House to house with daring dash,

they grab the mostest candy stash.

 

Bright full moon lights winding paths.

Bags sag; now comes the aftermath!

Pour the haul on living room floors,

Snatch, then trade, no need for more.  

 

In treats kids gathered on the streets

lie memories tucked among the sweets.

         Linda Baie ©


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38 comments:

  1. Hi Linda, thank you for hosting. Halloween like so many other observances and events will certainly be different this year. Not having grown up with Halloween, it doesn't loom as large on my calendar. I do however recall how big it was in the US during my six years in NYC. I appreciated the differing structures of your Halloween related poems. Halloween has certainly stirred your poetic sparks.

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  2. Thanks for hosting, Linda! We put out signs this year letting the (very few) families who ventured into our neighborhood that for safety's sake we wouldn't be passing out candy. It was an oddly quiet evening.

    I love both of your poems, and yes, we'll get back to the traditions when it's safe!!

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  3. Linda, your generous spirit shines through this post. I feel badly for all the little goblins this year; let's hope next Halloween might be more frightfully safe. Thanks for sharing the pictures and poetry - I especially love:
    "House to house with daring dash/they grab the mostest candy stash."
    Thanks for the smiles!

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  4. What a fantastic pre-Halloween party! Love your poems and photos. Our county has also advised against door-to-door trick or treating, so I'm guessing families will think of creative ways to celebrate in-house. Thanks for getting us into the Halloween spirit and thanks for hosting this week!

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  5. Linda, thank you for hosting! Love your poems! I am a Halloween fan and enjoyed them.

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  6. Thanks for hosting! Happy Halloween, everyone!

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  7. Hooray for a Halloween pre-party. I honestly don't know what I'll do about trick-or-treaters this year. If it's nice, I'll have a bucket of candy they can take from as I sit out on the driveway, masked and distanced. If no good weather I'm not sure how to celebrate. I really do not want to open the door to all the different germ spreaders. Thanks for hosting. I hope my link doesn't show up twice. I didn't see it post..so I tried again.

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  8. Thanks for hosting, Linda, and for helping us to relive - and re-evaluate - our Halloween traditions!

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  9. Thanks for hosting, Linda! Your poems spark lots of Halloween memories for me. We don't usually get many trick-or-treaters because it's a long haul between houses in our rural neighborhood (now kids get driven from house to house, but I used to make our kids walk..) I'm planning on putting out treats and books for the neighborhood kids, but don't know if anyone will come.

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  10. Thank you for hosting Linda with your creative poems. I was seeing words popping out at me in your prose poem, perhaps a nest poem with little nestlings hatching. The children's poem is just right for Halloween: "To neighbor’s doors on tiptoe feet/ready to shout out trick or treat;/dodging shadows that alarm,/racing by to keep from harm." I wish for little trick or treaters this year but not sure if the families in the neighborhood are interested in this tradition. I certainly hope so.
    I do love the tinman and the sign that shows the wisdom of being safe. I personally do not have any scary halloween creatures in front of my house, just the beauty of the autumn season greeting any trick or treaters.

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  11. Thank you for hosting this week and sharing these Halloween treats, Linda. So many traditions have been disrupted this year, yet we are willingly altering our holiday plans in hopes of keeping everyone safe. I do hope that next year we'll be able to have the kind of Halloween you celebrate in your wonderful poem.

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  12. Such a Octoberfull-o-roundness post Linda, lovely! STILL HALLOWEEN, is such an enchanting poem, thanks for bringing Halloween to me this year. This verse reminds me of the fairies moving around from "A Midsummer Night's Dream:
    To neighbor’s doors on tiptoe feet

    ready to shout out trick or treat;

    dodging shadows that alarm,

    racing by to keep from harm.
    Thanks for all and for hosting the roundup, Happy Halloween!

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  13. How different we think of masks these days! (Who would have imagined?) Thank you for the taste of Halloween nostalgia and for hosting this week, Linda. I included some photos of neighborhood decorations in my post this week too! Oh, and I think you'll find an especially nice treat/surprise at the end of my post. ;) Happy Halloween!

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  14. I love both of these poems. I do adore prose poems, though I'm not skilled in writing them. You made this one look easy.
    Thank you for hosting. Happy Halloween to you!

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  15. Thank you for hosting, dear Linda! Your poems get to the heart of what Halloween is for kids and their families: "big smiles on everyone’s faces especially Mom’s and Dad’s." One of the best parts of being a parent was making my girls' Halloween costumes and taking them trick or treating. Halloween is not that big of a thing here in Switzerland. It was gaining popularity in the past few years, but this year it isn't going to happen. Sending you my sweetest treat thoughts for your low key celebration. Happy Halloween! :)

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  16. Ah, what lovely memories, Linda. I love the creaking in the crannies. Happy Halloween to you, even if it's celebrated mostly in our minds this year!

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  17. Thanks for hosting, Linda! I'm here to leave my link - I'll be back later to read your post. <3

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  18. Happy Halloween Linda & a big glowing pumkin with a giant smile, for hosting! I love your poems & yes, I do remember some specific candy hauls. One neighbor always prepared a few special small bags for children she new by name, with a little toy, a pencil, sticker & other treats tucked into the candy, which was always different, once I grew up I realized it was imported. Best Oct 31 & best Nov. 1 morning, to you!

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  19. Thank you, Linda--in my neighborhood there is an actual Google Form and spreadsheet which tells everyone who's giving out candy/putting on a show! It's very "inside the beltway." We were trying to devise a Candy Catapult, but it's a heavy week of college and job applications, so it looks like we're just going to literally throw the Snickers and Milky Ways from our porch roof,
    "dodging shadows that alarm,
    racing by to keep from harm." May the Spirit of Fun protect and inspire you and yours!!!

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  20. Linda, thank you for hosting and for sharing these sweet Halloween memories! Our family always lived in rural areas, so trick or treating wasn't part of my childhood... or maybe it was my mother's very strict low-sugar diet for the family ?? Probably both! But Paul and I do have lovely sweet memories of enjoying these traditions with our own sons. Thank you for hosting and for staying away from politics for a moment... sweet respite! xo

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  21. Thanks for hosting, Linda, and for sharing these great Halloween poems. I have many fond memories of taking my children trick or treating, and even some of my own if I travel far enough back in time! And since I was a teacher for many years, the Halloween parade at school was always special.

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  22. I love these, Linda, and I hope we get a normal Halloween next year, too.

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  23. I love the seasonal feel of this today, Linda. Thank you for hosting, and be well.

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  24. Such a lovely post, full of sweetness and nostalgia. Happy Halloween anyway!

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  25. Thank you for hosting. Your poems remind me of many, many fun Halloweens, both as a kid and with my kids. (And now I want a Snickers!

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  26. Linda, I love the opening of your "Still Halloween" poem. Masks have a different meaning in our current circumstances.

    I'm posting very late today, BUT -- I didn't want to skip Election Day. I'm visiting with historical fiction author Deborah Kalb, who write the MG series The President and Me. Together, we came up with a list of resources for reading and writing poetry by and about U.S. presidents.

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  27. Happy Halloween, Linda. I love the image of the kids checking the offered treats before remembering to say "Thank you." First things first! Loved the neighborhood photos. The Tin Man is wonderful, with his oil can nearby. Loved: "Tiny heroes, ghosts and clowns/ traipsing all around the town." Great post!

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  28. Love this Halloween reminisce, Linda. The traipsing, the shadows, the tiny heroes. Beautiful! And thanks for hosting.

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  29. Bright full moon lights winding paths.

    Bags sag; now comes the aftermath!

    Pour the haul on living room floors,

    Snatch, then trade, no need for more.

    A vivid reminder of splitting friends' Halloween hauls when they came back from going door-to-door (we weren't allowed out, but they brought Halloween to us). This year there's a yard walk on our block, with people enjoying each other's yard decor - I very much love your poem, and think fondly of standing back and watching the panoply go by.

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  30. I love the last line of your poem, "In treats kids gathered on the streets lie memories tucked among the sweets." Halloween makes for wonderful family memories! Costumes made, cold nights, gracious neighbors and fun parties! I hope our future halloweens can once again resemble the past full of good memories! Thanks for hosting! ~ Carol at The Apples in My Orchard.

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  31. Linda, thank you for hosting. Your lovely poem says it all about Halloween in this pandemic year. xo

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  32. Thanks so much for sharing your Halloween poems. I love these lines: "Pour the haul on living room floors,

    Snatch, then trade, no need for more.



    In treats kids gathered on the streets

    lie memories tucked among the sweets."
    You have sent me on a trip down memory lane. I have so many sweet memories of pillowcases of candy dumped, admired, sorted and traded. And eaten! Thanks for hosting!

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  33. Thanks to everyone who came to this pre-Halloween party & shared so many wonderful things. My heart and brain are full to the brim. Happy weekend wherever you land and whatever you celebrate!

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  34. Thanks for sharing these lovely poems. You really capture both the joy of Halloweens past and the strangeness and sadness--and hopefully joy, too--of this one. Children are good at finding joy in the present--hopefully they can help us get there, too.

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  35. Linda, I so love the nostalgia you capture perfectly in your verse. I've also been remembering the old days of Halloween, the delicious but safe creepiness of the night, seeing all those costumes, trick-or-treating in our big neighborhood, going to carnivals - I loved the holiday and went all out with my own kids. There won't be much of it this year... my granddaughter, age 4, is spending the day with me and it's sad to think of not trick-or-treating or trunk-or treating ... but we are making a Halloween feast and writing Halloween poetry to go with her artwork instead! Oh - and the Tin Man - he did have a heart all along, didn't he? A most noble, wish, a heart... thank you for hosting today!

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    1. I've been at the bookstore much of the day, Fran, & just saw your comment, hoping you're having a wonderful time with your granddaughter! Thanks much for coming by & posting!

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  36. Hi Linda! I like your memories tucked in the sweets. A 13-year-old in our town made a Halloween light show in front of his house, which turned out to be so popular that he will be making one for Christmas. Thank goodness people find ways to new memories during hard times. Thanks for hosting! xo

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    1. It's great to hear about that boy & his light show. So many people did some fun things here for Halloween, though the evening itself was quiet. Thanks, Tabatha

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