By Greg Budig
copyright 2020
"Are there shadows
at night?" a young
child once asked.
"Oh yes… there
certainly are!"
Black as coal, deep
and dark, spreading
near and reaching far.
But on Halloween night
the shadows can be
something much
more exciting!
Is that a ghost?
Is that a ghoul?"
Who knows what
could be hiding!!
So let's light the
jack-o-lanterns!
Let their eerie
glow fill the air!
Let's search through
the Halloween shadows
just to see what
is hiding there!
I can see three ghostly
figures, walking swiftly
across the street.
With flowing capes
and ghoulish smiles,
leaves crunch
beneath their feet.
"Who are you?"
"Where are you going?"
"Why do you wander
through our streets?"
"Can't you see we're
trick or treating!"
"We're out searching
for some sweets!!"
But soon it is discovered,
how could I have been
afraid of that?! It was
only Charlie Whiskers…
the neighbor's portly cat!
Halloween shadows
will play tricks on us.
Twisted figures in the
orange pumpkin light.
They seem to dance by
the windows and
crawl up the roof!
What kind of madness
are we seeing tonight!!
But the madness
is all an illusion.
Like a magician,
it tricks and deceives.
The figures are
just twisted branches.
The shadows from
the now leafless trees.
All through the solemn
graveyard, where on
Halloween one
should never go!
Are the shadows that
are always changing,
forever moving in
the moon's ghostly glow.
Amongst the aging
headstones, all lined
up in stately rows.
The shadows appear
like swaying ghosts,
all depending on
where the wind blows.
All through the mystery
of Halloween night,
the shadows make
you wonder what's real.
The visions in your
Halloween mind are
usually worse than
what the shadows reveal.
Halloween is a night to
feel afraid, to be amazed
and feel suddenly alive!
The shadows let your
imagination run wild!
They let the magic of
childhood survive.
So go out into the
Halloween shadows.
Let them invite you to
the wild celebration!!
Because the magic of
the Halloween shadows,
is the magic of your
own imagination!!
THE END
