What is that rattle in the yard
when moon hides in the clouds,
when wind tonight in autumn moans,
where howls of wolf pack echoes?
A clattered sound of monster bones.
Thought he’d wandered far away
Last Halloween’s silent midnight
I swore I heard his groan across
lake, his tears splashing like rain;
my guilt pulsing accusing refrain.
To me he was a hobby sprung of
extra bits and pieces cast aside,
as upon my hands too much time;
a pattern of a scarecrow to elevate
the pumpkins; to decorate the yard.
Yet once I carved his toothsome smile,
Eyelashed both of his eyes, he said
with such conviction that he wanted
to be more, not just decoration, how
could such earnest plea be denied?
A month of barters, haggles with zoos,
crematories, and butcher shoppes later
his puzzle was assembled with bones of
many creatures, with many features —
but would they see fit to work together?
It took some borrowed pixie dust and
spell I’d paid too much to learn, but it
was too far to turn back now. I said
the words and sprinkled – oh my word!
Jack jumped as if puppets strings jerked.
“Dance with me, my goddess, giver of my life.
I’ve watched you work, I love you, please
will you be my wife?” The very smile I gave
him, ‘ere of pure delight, now turned under
full moon’s shadowed light to demon grin.
What have I done!? Revulsion in fear grew
as monster metacarpals flexed and reached
to take me for a whirl. I knew ‘twould be
too late once captured within Jack’s spell;
soon I’d be the bride of a monster from hell.
Recalling all-important witches addendum,
I recited it through my chattering teeth,
expecting him to fall into an inert heap —
but no, his carved eyes brimmed and
his smile shifted to one of infinite sadness.
He hobbled off with severed strings, a
caricature from cartoons; I watched him
fade into dappled shadows cast by moon.
He said, “Goodbye, my love, remember
me, as I will always remember you.”
image by: (BRANDON HANSEN/Chewelah Independent)
Maria Berg is the host of Writober.
Also linking this up with dVerse’ Open Link Night.
Tao Talk 
This is so beautiful and poignant Li. A wonderful story
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Thank you <3 I wrote it at 3 a.m. last night. I almost thought I heard bones rattling outside ;)
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Oh wow! You’re getting into the Halloween👻 🎃 spirit
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Halloween is my favorite holiday season :)
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That is cool 😎
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Spooky! :-)
I may have mentioned this before. When I was growing up in Germany, Halloween wasn’t a thing. That said, in the region where I grew up we had something that was somewhat comparable. though with a different origin. It was called Saint Martin and based on a biblical story.
The occasion was celebrated with parades led by an impersonator of St. Martin riding on a horse. Kids would make lanterns and after the parade go from house to house to sing St. Martin songs for candy or hot chocolate. There were no tricks, however, in case somebody didn’t open their front door.
The occasion was also marked with bonfires and special sweet St. Martin’s bread you could buy in local bakeries.
Since I left Germany in 1993, I think Halloween has gained popularity there as well, though I don’t know whether it’s comparable to the U.S. I doubt it!
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Thank you, Christian. One the spookiest stories I ever wrote. I have to give nods to Mary Shelley *and* to Chuck Palahniuk, whose book I’m reading right now is off the hook with monster making.
I appreciate learning about holiday customs in other places. I also like to understand the function of holidays in how they are used to influence the population. U.S. Halloween has gotten much less free-spirited and swaying more towards consumerism than ever before. I remember when kids could be kids and safely roam the streets as little beasties and princesses. Now yards are strewn with expensive decorations and the spirit of it feels corrupted :(
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We have a guy in our neighborhood who each Halloween season converts his entire front yard into a cemetery, which does seem to be a bit over the top to me.
We don’t celebrate Halloween. My wife is a Jehowah witness and wants nothing to do with it. I don’t mind Halloween but also don’t miss it since it wasn’t a thing in Germany when I grew up there.
While I’m not a religious person (I guess the Catholic church failed in my case!), I also don’t like the commercialization of holidays, especially those with a religious origin. It feels like religion on sale!
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Christian, that “whole yard thing” is becoming a trend around here also. Sounds like your son never celebrated Halloween either? If he went to school that probably was difficult for him with all of the celebrations the school puts on for it (or used to at least, not sure now?)
Well said on the commercialization of holidays.
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Interestingly, my son Ian never really cared about Halloween.
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Is he a musical brainiac like you? (Meant in the best of ways!)
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Not really. At least I took him to see Macca, but that dates back to July 2016. Every now and then, he listens to good stuff – I guess I still need to work on him! :-)
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:) Cool he was able to see Macca, which most people cannot say they’ve done.
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Oh I loved this so much, Lisa. How fun!!
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Colleen, I like how it turned out also. It was around 3 a.m. and the witching hour gave just the right atmosphere to write it. Thank you.
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Ohhhh, you channeled some good energy!
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This was so much fun. Made me smile and laugh. And your colors with the way you used the banner looks so nice.
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Sorry. I did not mean to be anonymous. That was me.
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Thank you very much, Maria.
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A wonderful one Lisa…I really enjoyed this….like someone else said…a lot of fun.
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Thank you, Max. I’m surprised everyone finds it so fun. I found it to be terrifying and haunting!
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I can’t speak for everyone else but for me…at the end… He said, “Goodbye, my love, remember
me, as I will always remember you.”
softened it up a bit…in a great way though. But… that is through my warped mind…
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Max, you see it as you see it and that doesn’t mean your mind is warped. You think the best of people (and bone monsters lol.)
I just saw the double meaning in those lines, similar to what a stalker would tell his target.
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You do have me pegged. I always do think the best.
Sometimes I miss obvious things by doing that.
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I appreciate that quality in you, Max. Thank you for reading and always being supportive.
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A story suitable to the season. I also found the ending poignant, although I’m glad she escaped her monstrous creation. (K)
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I’m glad you saw the poignance, and I’m really hoping she did…
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I love this! Especially; “Yet once I carved his toothsome smile, eyelashed both of his eyes, he said with such conviction that he wanted to be more, not just decoration, how could such earnest plea be denied?” Indeed! 🥰🥰
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Thanks much, Sanaa. I linked this up last night with full intention on reading this Halloween spooky tale this morning but I ended up staying up way too late and so didn’t make it.
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You really got into the spirit of Halloween with this one, Lisa, and I love a scary poem! Rattling and clattering monster bones indeed. I love the lines:
‘To me he was a hobby sprung of
extra bits and pieces cast aside,
as upon my hands too much time;
a pattern of a scarecrow to elevate
the pumpkins; to decorate the yard’
and
‘He hobbled off with severed strings, a
caricature from cartoons; I watched him
fade into dappled shadows cast by moon’.
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Kim, thanks much. I wanted to read this this morning but didn’t wake up in time (stayed up too late last night.) I imagined that Jack has come back to visit her and will continue to do so every Halloween.
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I’d like to think so too.
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Spooky! Is there anything more frightening than a monster of our own creation?! A fitting poem for the season!
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Indeed, Jennifer! Thank you :)
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I know it should be scary but somehow with all that over the top imagery it actually seems a bit amusing to me… the story of falling to the spell of a monster is really good though,
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Thanks, Bjorn. I tried to model Jack on Jack Skellington in A Nightmare Before Christmas.
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