Today We Celebrate Life

When the nights grow stronger, shadows longer,
the chill creeps in,
the frost strikes
and all but the hardiest perishes.
The stark bare branches, the remnants
Of Mother Earth’s glorious vestiture become withered and brown
evoking a deep loss--
and by all appearances the light has lost--

but is there not also a dormancy
a shedding, a renewal,
Endurance...
Immortality?

And once a year, on All Hallows Eve, we turn to fully face the darkness
the chill, the killing frost,
the rot,
And to our glorious credit,
we throw our heads back
howl at the moon, laugh,
embrace the dark, embody it, make it our own,
revel in it even,
and wake up resurrected and whole.

Halloween is a celebration of the ascendancy of life.
And after the winter of the soul, we do thrive again,
on and on and for all time.
Our predecessors are closer than ever today;
Today we celebrate life.

Happy Halloween!!

a reply to: zosimov


The Sheriff gets a Silver Shamrock mask of his very own,
and a H.H. from Conal Cochran (Dan O'Herlihy five stars)
"It's time again."

There are those that celebrate All Hallows' Eve in a
directly opposite manner. In a couple of spots, this was
maybe the best job John Carpenter did for a movie.

a reply to: derfreebie

Oooh that's a great clip.



and you are right, of course. there are those who hate what most of us would consider good and hate life, and will rail against it while they can.

I'll have to watch Halloween III-- never seen it, and definitely love John Carpenter.

originally posted by: zosimov
a reply to: derfreebie

Oooh that's a great clip.
...[Shortened that quote]
I'll have to watch Halloween III-- never seen it, and definitely love John Carpenter.

It's a coin-toss for even John Carpenter's skill set to keep
you involved with the script-- but it's more cerebral by a
mile than the "Escape From x" or anything else of his. Just
a couple of gross out scenes, and I will NOT spoil it for ya.

PS:Great thread, and touching poetry. I'm not ALL savage.

Zosimov-- you write the most awesome stuff! I love your threads and posts. Beautiful soul , thanks for the story! [hugs on post Halloween!] 🎃

originally posted by: derfreebie

PS:Great thread, and touching poetry. I'm not ALL savage.

I would never have suspected you of all savagery
But thank you !--yours and Starcrossd comments made my day.

a reply to: Starcrossd

Thanks for the compliment, you put a huge smile on my face and shine a beautiful soul as well, Starcrossd! Post Halloween hugs right back (loved that jack o lantern too)

a reply to: zosimov

Nice! Thank you.

There's this thing I wrote while awake,
recalling what I thought while asleep;
not dreaming, mind you,
just thinking while sleeping.

Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep

In my sleep I compose this poem
for in this sleep is my truest home

From which I feel I can comfortably stay
without an urge to wander or stray

Without the need for a single tether
to hold me still or keep me together.

Should I awake to all those others
in that World with ten thousand mothers

I know that I will never truly understand
for the life of another is a foreign land

...

I stopped writing at that point. The next few lines seemed to be an insult to awake-life. The insult rose almost to the level of negation. And since I was awake while transposing the sleeping-thoughts, I decided not to heap such insult upon myself. So wakeful self thought slyly, "I will wait until those lines are forgotten, then I will be able to tolerate wakefulness."

But the final line stuck in my mind:

Now I lay me down to sleep,
and I alone shall my soul keep.

a reply to: pthena

Lol!
I love your composition process just as much as the work it produces. Writing is a form of magic or alchemy, I'm beginning to think.

I usually don't edit too much but I did make a few tweaks to the first stanza and have finally satisfied the Virgo within, at least for the time being.

I hope you're enjoying the fall!

Here's my final draft:

When the nights grow stronger, shadows longer,
the chill creeps in,
the frost pounces
and all but the hardiest perishes.
The stark bare branches bear the remnants
Of Nature’s glorious vestiture withered and brown,
evoking a deep sense of loss--
--and by all appearances the light has lost...


And yet, is there not also a dormancy
a shedding, a renewal,
Endurance...
Immortality?

And once a year, on All Hallows Eve, we turn to fully face the darkness
the chill, the killing frost,
the rot,
And to our glorious credit,
we throw our heads back,
Howl at the moon, laugh,
embrace the dark, embody it, make it our own,
revel in it even,
and wake up resurrected and whole.

Halloween is a celebration of the ascendancy of life.
And after the winter of the soul, we do thrive again,
on and on and for all time.
Our predecessors are closer than ever today;
Today we celebrate life.