Dripping into what passes for daylight
In these northern climes,

The moon fades, wind and rain shower,
Trees sway, on this formless holiday
Light, such as it is, tucks away dream,

Children — washed, tired, pale -
Know it’s Halloween
I know it well:
Tired ghosts forget to rise again,
Witches stagger into view
As all their magic fades away.

Clogged motors roar
As the October mist lifts
Neighbours hang out washing in the thin rain;

Electric lights the morning,
Flooding street light shelters for the dead bees
As cats crawl under cars
Leaves tumble into day -

In famine times dead leaves were eaten by the dying children -
As fat priests blessed themselves with fat housekeepers.
So many inscriptions unread,
So many dead.

.