Hallow's Eve

Once a year on Hallow's Eve

in cemeteries and abandoned buildings everywhere,

the dead wake and throw a soiree the living would envy.

With morbid decor displaying glowing candles of all sizes

and haunting music so loud it would rattle anyone's bones,

they climb to the surface and gather

to enjoy delicious hors d' oeuvres and conversation.

The dilapidated buildings

ordinarily accompanied by spiders, dust, and creaking

host a macabre group.

The halls are full of chatter as the newly deceased

swap stories with those who passed over a century ago.

Bats shake off their slumber

as they soar through the lunar lights that glimmer

behind softly rolling clouds.

They sneak through broken windows

and feast on the fruit salad left unattended.

Rats send echoes with the soft pitter-patter of feet

as they scurry away with cubes of meat and cheese.

Ghoulish guests work their way to the open dance floor

as the night continues.

Cold cadavers grab one another to tango

as breathless bodies hold each other tight.

Graveyards come alive with the dearly departed.

Their skeletons dance in the moon light,

white bones glinting in the pale luminescence.

They smile as they hold each other close,

whispering a lifetime of loving secrets.

Young men dust off flowers from headstones

and present them to shy corpses.

The living fall in love all the time;

why shouldn't the dead do the same?

The rain is full of ghosts,

each discussing current world issues

with a tall sparkling elixir in hand.

Shimmering specters discuss their living loved ones

and boast about posthumous achievements.

Trees sway in the showers

delicately bathing the freshly disturbed sod.

Wolves sing their lunar laments in the distance

not daring to interrupt such sweet reunions.

A murder of crows spy from behind the bushes,

savoring the moonlit scene before them.

As the morning sun creeps closer,

the dead make their way back to their hollow crypts and tombs,

sharing one last joke or admiration for their alluring sweetheart.

A quick kiss that could make a lifeless body blush,

each spirit goes back to their resting place.

Until next year, they shall remain remains.

The wait doesn't seem long though,

when you have an eternity resting in peace.