Welcome to Dead End-Poetry Friday Rises!

Have You Ever:

Faced a dead end?

Wondered where life will lead you?

Seen pathways as a bookend

squished between few alternatives?

Brushed away sticky cobwebs and

tangled knots of this and that?

Searched for waves that in sunlight ebb

that lessen the dread?

©CV, 2020

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a place where fears rise

as phobias spiral into

a nebulous light of fright

 on Hallow's Eve.

As phobias spiral into

mounting terror

on Hallow's Eve,

moonbeams dance in a spectral mist.

Mounting terror

rises while stars swirl on a broomstick ride.

Moonbeams dance in a spectral mist

and costumed characters ward off fiendish howls.

Rising while stars swirl on a broomstick ride,

crispcool ghouls flash their razor-sharp grins

and costumed characters ward off fiendish howls.

Who seeks refuge in garden graveyards?

   Chrispcool ghouls flash their razorsharp grins

and scare the bravest lad

who seeks refuge in garden graveyards,

a place where fears R I S E.

©CV, 2020, pantoum poem

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The following golden shovel takes the strike line, mischiefs that on moonbeams ride, from Hallowe'en by Joel Benton to create a spooky poem. 

Listen to Benton's reading here for a Halloween treat. 

Within the dimness of night, mischiefs

rise as childish pranks spiral into that

vast expanse of fright on

Halloween. In the fractured light, moonbeams

shimmer as witches ride.

©CV, 2020

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All of the above images of spooky scenes were shot while walking through my neighborhood, then digitized to create an eery effect.

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Join me for the Halloween version of the Poetry Friday Roundup. I can't wait to see what poetic goodness our Denver host, Linda Baie, is serving. Below you will see the digital inspiration, One Halloween wish from Denver, Linda sent me for the "Haunted House Poemtober Journey" collection of my Abundant Autumn Gallery.

October's Transition

Because nature has brought a sense of peace to troubled times this season, I am grateful. October, the high point of autumn, paves the golden path for November to usher in a slower pace with thankful thoughts. For this transition, I have created my first pantoum.

A pantoum is a poem of any length, composed of four-line stanzas in which the second and fourth lines of each stanza serve as the first and third lines of the next stanza. The last line of a pantoum is often the same as the first. 

October's Transition

October ends its stay with slipsliding stride.

Crunching rustling leaves.

Spreading multicolored layers thin.

Preparing a way for more crispcool times.

Crunching rustling leaves,

October's evening blush dims,

Spreading multicolored layers thin

as enchanted evening dreams begin

October's evening blush dims

into a speckled indigo sky.

As enchanted evening dreams begin,

nature golddusts earth with thankful sighs.

Into a speckled indigo sky

November sweeps through like a feather duster

as enchanted evening dreams begin

flowing through crispclean air.

November sweeps through like a feather duster

refreshing late autumn's terrain.

Flowing through crispclean air,

October ends its stay with slipsliding stride.

©CV, 2020

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turns into November thanks

Autumn walks in beauty on days

of lustrous hues, muted skies, and

earth bedecked in dazzling jewels.

©CV, 2020

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To add a more gratitude for a season of grandeur, I honor the work of fellow slicers who write alongside me for my Abundant Autumn Global Gallery of Artistic Expressions.

Pandemic Getaway

Fall

reflects

pensively

on pandemic

woes as it invites

travelers to peaceful

shores filled with wishwells of joy.

Pause to bask in nature's grandeur

during getaways that provide rest

from the stresses of a compromised world. 

©CV, 2020, etheree

May October's beauty transition joyfully

into November's crispcool settling time.

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I am sending this Slice of Life to Two Writing Teachers.

#SOL20

Thank you to the following slicers for offering your artistic expressions on the Abundant Autumn Gallery of Artistic Expressions, Slicers' Edition.

Terje Akke

Ramona Behnke

Fran Haley

Bob Hamera

Kevin Hodgson

Molly Hogan

Margaret Simon

Haunted House Poemtober Journey

Join me for a strange Poemtober journey enroute to Halloween. Just stay a short time for a poetic diversion into the bizarre world of seasonal decorations. 

All it takes is one ticket and a few moments to enter a world of bloodcurdling howling and ghoulish fright with a cast of strange characters.

welcome to my world's

cemetery of dread-

enter at your risk

©CV, 2020

how dare you wake me

from a peaceful resting place-

day shift starts now

©CV, 2020

creepy clown sightings

rise from haunted spaces-

free hugz for all

©CV, 2020

trading toad, werewolf

bones for carnevil horror-

weird farmers market

©CV, 2020

ready for today's

decapitated offerings-

no tricks just treats
©CV, 2020

bloodcurdling howl from 

age-old decompositions-

tale as old as time

©CV, 2020

time to journey on

dear child, dreaded darkness nears-

sweet dreams yet to come

©CV, 2020

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Listen to "Sweet Dreams" by Eurythmics

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monsters are out tonight

rushing from their tombs

bony bodies full of fright

crushing autumn blooms.

©CV, 2020

🍁👻🍂

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Thank you for taking a haunted house tour through my neighborhood. 

Sleep well. Monsters are only figments of our imaginations. 

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Halloween 2020 may not take on the same outdoor fun of years past BUT

this virtual Haunted House Journey will provide a new normal experience.

🍁👻🍂

I'm off on my virtual broom to fly into the Poetry Friday Roundup at Jama's Alphabet Soup.  Jama Rattigan, the ultimate hostess, always serves edible and non-edible treats of poetic goodness.

Poemtober's Blackdraped Evening

During October, when the leaves are tinted with golddust and autumn air is crispclean, the creation of a Poemtober experience becomes a therapeutic, poetic diversion from heaviness hovering over the world. Thanks to my Florida poet-friend, Rebecca Herzog, who originated the Poemtober word list, I offer a seasonal collection of poetry. Inspired by outside decorations found in my Long Island neighborhood, I have gathered a plethora of visual prompts.

Below you will find an eerie-looking gathering of spectral sights that sway under an October blackdraped evening. To enhance the scene and create an illuminated sight, I digitized the original photo. Then, I crafted a septercet poem, a form created by poet Jane Yolen with a pattern of seven syllables in three-line stanzas. 

 "I would like, if I may, to take you on a strange journey."

  The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Welcome to a Blackdraped Evening Celebration

Specters' Chant

"Trick or treat," we sing tonight

as night sounds cause howling fright

and specters rise from their rest.

Illuminated in white,

hands join in a spooky fest,

calling spirits from the tomb.

Under a blackdraped, night sky

hums of ancient doom and gloom

cause neighbors' woeful outcry.

"Shed your flowing white costume

Return to your earthen bed,

the cemetery of dread."

©CV, 2020

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Because life is full of fears these days, I saw this amazing outdoor decoration and knew exactly what I wanted to create. My etheree is a call to action, do not enter the fear zone! Face fears that haunt your waking hours.

Fears

hover.

Do not let

them enter your

home but face your fears.

They play tricks, ghoulishly

cause weeping, and entomb the

living in a virtual crypt

of trembling trepidation causing

bonechilling frustration and disruption.

©CV, 2020

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From one year to the next Poemtober offer opportunities to revisit thoughts and happenings, and create stories, stitches of memories sewn together. For now, join me for Slice of Life Tuesday at Two Writing Teachers and keep writing. It's National Day on Writing.

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