Poem "Jack-o'-Lantern"

 

Jack-o’-Lantern

By Richard H. Fay 

Disembowled and mutilated,

With gruesome face knifed into its flesh,

The graven-visaged gourd now stands guard

Upon frightfully adorned front porch

On this most haunted of autumn eves.

Serving as sentry shielding against

Wicked shades from a more savage age,

Glowing like a beacon in the night,

The carved-up pumpkin now stands ready 

For this most ghostly of autumn eves.

Backlit by flickering candle flame

Burning within a gutted hollow, 

A toothy grin now greets roving youths

Clad in garb fearsomely suitable

For this most eerie of autumn eves.

Proud symbol of the spooky season

Imbued with an uncanny spirit

And endowed with mystic enchantment,

The beaming Jack-o’-Lantern now laughs

On this most wondrous of autumn eves.