Hang fake cobwebs from the lamppost
Drag the body to the cellar
Place pumpkins on the front gate
Fill the shallow grave with lime.
Do not linger in the moonlight
Where the dead children dance
Visions of those who ate your poisoned candy
Whose ashes line your oven shelf.
Fill the front yard bowl with apples
Wet with water where they drowned your ancestor
These neighbors of the cul-de-sac
Who celebrates the death of witches.
Those who join in the games are normal
Women without pointed hats
Offering pumpkins and poisoned candy
To neighbors children on a cold October night.
Matthew Wilson has been published repeatedly in Star*Line, Night to Dawn magazine, Hiraeth Publishing and many more. His first story collection, Gargoyles of the Abbey, is now available on Kindle.
Published 10/27/22
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