Ghoulish and Macabre

                                                                                        Attribution: Bissolis
Image: Halloween Pumpkin
Source: Wikimedia Commons (here)

Uncanny designs devilish in nature

Its appearance ghoulish and macabre

Leaving  imagination set to venture

Acceptable even without a lure

Transcending through time and space

Flirtatious roaming about the community

Scouring door to door moving in a maze

Trick or treats not entirely charity

But beware youngsters of present day danger

Times have changed now wrought with risks

Stalkers aplenty when opportunities appear

Defenseless revelers not given a miss

While among those friendly house owners

Once, one was known to have pulled a gun

Contending at the door a would-be robber

Or was it just a mere excuse of defense

Ghost-themed and morbid all so sincere

Halloween to fulfill an annual adventure

Having them indoors can be served better

To stifle probabilities of impending danger

Anna hosting at d'Verse's Meeting the Bar: Wild Beast. Anna has a macabre avant garde as a theme

Misconstrued Insanity

                                                                                                    Attribution: dvsross
Image: 2013 Burning Man Festival
Source: Wikimedia Commons (here)

Case of misconstrued insanity

Could he be faulted for a time

Lingering in throes of secrecy

Not really worth a dime

He searched his conscience

He thought he had it made

Sweetie Pie, he even gave a name

But she would rather have him dead

What did he do wrong

Whispering sweet nothings?

Choice of words all along

Not open to feigning 

But he was not about to give up

Faint heart given a nudge

Plodding on would be smart

Time would be the judge

Written for Mrsupole's Theme Thursday with prompt  -  sweets

Gone With the Wind!

                                                                          Attribution: Sander van der Wel
Image: Depressed
Source: Wikimedia Commons (here)

The 3WW with words::

Depressed  Fuzzy  Sharp

Decidedly depressed

Could not hide his emotions

Others did not express

Any kinds of suggestions

What was he to do

It was a lone battle

Fuzzy and feeling blue

It was a big muddle

Love of his life

Had frittered away

His being nose-dived

Much to his dismay

Sharp in giving his all

Nurtured of good tidings

Felt rather small

That all gone with the wind

More guarded now

In expending feelings

Not way he did before

Which left him reeling

Written for Thomg's  3-Words Wednesday

Fight Back Against Bullies

                                                                                Attribution: Eddie S
Image:  A Reassuring Sign
Source: Wikimedia Commons (here)

Fenced in idle thoughts

Yearning to be free but lo!

Forcibly held back

Languishing alone

Tiny room a make belief

domain but not quite

Invoked tsunami

Forced running battle against

the likes of bullies

Fight back a signal

not to harass, only then

they learned  to respect

Written for Joe's hosting at d'Verse OpenLinkNight week #120 and
Chev's CARPE DIEM #334 with Lolly's prompt choice - fence

A Sultry Baby

                                                                               le Jardin 1962, by Max Ernst
Image: Courtesy of Tess' Magpie Tales 191

Sultry baby

Not quite exposed

But just

Sexy beauty

Not quite seen

But a blast

Sensuous lady

Peeking through

Must you hide?

Desirable  plaything

Not creating a scene

Innocently alluring

Sensational being

Clever in feigning

Success in the offing

Written for Tess' Mag 191 with above image! Shared with Poets United's Poetry Pantry #173

A Hot-Dog Dog - MF

Image: Courtesy of Grandma's Goulash

Not that vacant look
You are looking smart
Brace up, you are not
just a dog but a hot-dog
dog. Get it!  A walking
hot-dog! Can't you see?

(140 characters)

Linda at Grandma's Goulash, Succinctly Yours week 136 challenged
us to write a Micro Fiction of not exceeding 140 characters with the
image provided above and to include the word of the week - vacant

A Companion to Obesity

                                                                          Attribution: Evans Amos
Image:  A Familiar Treat
Source: Wikimedia Commons (here)

Note: The image is not the Hillbilly 10 Pounder Burger which is way bigger.
Not quite ghoulish or spooky but a monster no less

A monster of an offering

A Hillbilly Hotdogs’10 Pounder Burger

Gobble and munch no fearing

On the road to being an obese contender

Where to find it, needn’t look far

It’s a  West Virginian specialty

Enjoyed by all and not a mar

to the state’s 31% of adult obesity

The ingredients if one cares to know

Comprised bread, lettuce, 10 pounds of beef

2 pounds of pickles, 3 onions, 3 tomatoes

And would you believe it, 25 slices of cheese

Fat content of 10 pounds of burger meat

is more than 800 grams of fat with ease

Or to put it more simply, it is the day’s fats feed

For 12 women and not even counting the cheese

Hail all lovers of fast foods

The convenience that matter

Having it in a jiffy governs the mood

Couldn’t trade for anything better

Written for Shanyn's hosting at d'Verse Poetics: Lighter side of
ghouls & goblins on a monster of sorts

Brown and Golden Colors

                                                                                                 Author: Ragesoss
Image: Autumn leaves
Source: Wikimedia Commons (here)

autumn leaves

myriad shades red and gold

begin to fall as snow        -       joanne

just as well to usher in

the impending winter months

autumn leaves

myriad shades red and gold

begin to fall as snow         -     joanne

blanketing earth’s surface with

heaven’s goodness of colors

autumn leaves

myriad shades red and gold

begin to fall as snow          -    joanne

and coolness of autumn breeze

sustains romances and dreams

Chev at CARPE DIEM wants us to complete joanne's haiku into a Tan Renga at
Tan Renga Challenge #20 with an addition of two 7-7 lines

Deprived of Decent Living

                                                                                   Drawing by Carl Nabel
Image:  Battle of Buena Vista
Source: Wikimedia Commons (here)

3WW with words:
Greasy Insidious Reveal

It’s a make believe world
Living in peril not wanting
But faces of despair in limbo
To reveal a scheme of things
Driven through a greasy tide
Of experience pulling through
A living more in tune with
Knowing of existing conflicts

Insidious in nature fronting as
Big business but hiding behind
Lawful outfits given to cheating
Whole communities of comforts
And shelter fundamental to
Survival with not a glimmer
Of hope than meeting basic
Needs of being and begging

Strong economies giant in nature
Swallowing minnows juxtaposed
Among many of equal stature
Basic in wanting to sustain
Some semblance of staying alive
But forced to put through a notion
That supporting a cause is better
Than desire to be alive and kicking

Written for ThomG's 3Word Wednesday shared with Mrsupole's Theme Thursday with prompt  - faces

Tummy Pains Determined

                                                                                    Attribution: Jackhsiao
Image: Hospital Bed
Source: Wikimedia Commons (here)

Just returned from a procedure, to

check on lower abdominal pains

Confirmed not cancerous 

Gastric

Lingering pain

Endoscopy check performed

Ulcers confirmed but not serious

Ailment is now addressed

A Pensee has a 

2-4-7-8-6 syllable count whereby

line one is the subject line,

line 2 is description,

line 3 is action

line 4 is setting and

line 5 is the final thoughts on the poem.

Written for Tony's hosting at d'Verse OpenLinkNight #119
based on a Pensee Form 

Candor Not Asked For!

                                                                              Attribution: Derrick Coetzee
Image: A Yellow headed Amazon
Source: Wikimedia Commons (here)

Sunday Whirl, wordle # 131 with words:

amalgam balance brick cheat everything fence

gravel mouth nothing notices tentacles trash vacant

Nothing prepared him for it

Had much faith in good manners

But it crashed like a brick wall

Everything went off balance

The cheat extending the tentacles

An amalgam of slick play-acting

and sweet talking conman juice

A vacant look often times were

the opening gambit before flying

into a rage unbecoming of one

given to trappings of high society

Trash from the mouth were plainly

dirty gravel extending notices of

the muck oozing with profanities

Attempts to fence in the emotions

came to nought and it taught him

a lesson  - never ever bring back

home without prior checking a

talking parrot!

Written for Sunday Whirl Wordle #131 and shared with Open Link Monday at Real Toads 
and Poets United's Poetry Pantry #172

New Experiences, New Life!

                                                                                     Attribution: Doc Sphere

Image: New Snow Through snow Covered Meadows
Source: Wikimedia Commons (here)

new snow

the path you made last night

has gone with you   -   Garry Gay

grey remnants, blot to

noble efforts extended

to benefit man   -   Hank’s

new snow

the path you made last night

has gone with you   -   Garry Gay

need create a new path

to obliterate ills of

past and chart anew   -   Hank’s

Shared with Chev's CARPE DIEM #63 where one is to match Garry's
haiku with one's own and Leo's Haiku Heights #305 with prompt  - grey

Not to Lose All!

                                                                                         Attribution: Zellmi

Image: Lost the Bone in the Water
Source: Wikimedia Commons (here)

You’ve heard of the dog in the manger

Which kept others at bay while it lounged

At a place not readily its domain

Just so others were deprived of its use

Not short on dog stories there’s another

Not unlike the one in the manger but close

Secured with a bone clenched between its teeth

Happily on the way home it crossed a brook

It spied its reflection in the water, bone and all

Thinking it was an easy picking for another bone

It opened its mouth to wrest at the other

Down dropped the bone and now it had none

And the moral of the story kids,

Be happy with  what you already have

As a wrong attitude might cause you to lose all

Victoria is hosting at d'Verse with prompt  The Mind of a Child, d'Verse Poeticd

A Scarecrow Fisherman?

                                                                                      Attribution: Thomas Schoch
Image: A Spectacular Fisherman - a One Leg Rower
Source: Wikimedia Commons (here)

Halloween night

the fisherman

dressed as a scarecrow     -  Garry Gay

Fishes down below laughing

Can well see behind the tricks!

Halloween night

the fisherman

dressed as a scarecrow     -  Garry Gay

Scared the daylights of the fish

And translated to poor catch

We are to complete the given Garry Gay's haiku into a Tan Renga
with two lines of 7-7 in Chev's CARPE DIEM Challenge #19

Spur of the Moment

                                                                              Attribution: Broken Sphere
Image: A 1929 Auburn Speedster
Source: Wikimedia Commons (here)

Spur of the moment

Release of a spark varied

In circumstances

Dare graze the bumper

of the speedster in front, a

road bully  transformed

Enduring moments

of ecstasy but next a

monster suddenly

Crying for a fix

Wayward son swiped the meager

earnings of poor dad

Written for Chev’s CARPE DIEM #325 with prompt  - release

Shared with Theme Thursday’s - enduring  and Sunday Scribbling’s

# 301 - spark

What of a Trash Heap!

                                                                            Attribution: Arthur Thomson
Image: The Java Man
Source: Wikimedia Commons (here)

It was a daunting task

To determine what it could have been

Sieving through layers upon layers

Of trash of no known origin

It was not foolproof but rather

A next best alternative

To plainly extend guesswork

Humanly possible to intensify

Based on evidences relative

To other similar specimens

To reach some form of conclusion

It could reveal the social fabric

Covering food ,clothing and implements

Which vowed to keep it a secret

Undisturbed for millions of years

Until archeologists arrived at the scene

The variety of artifacts could only have

Claims to prominence through conjecture

Of such scientific conclusions

Even the discovery of a single Java Man

Could still be mired in controversy

Whether it was an erect homo sapiens

Or just an ape or baboon of recent times

Being fastidious in collecting and collating

Of remnants of bones or skulls were by no

Means an accuracy of determining a fact

But rather of good methodology at best

Written for Peggy's hosting at Poetry Jam to write on It's All in the Trash and

Shared with ThomG's hosting at  3Word Wednesday with  words  
daunting, fastidious and intensify

Blessings from Heavens

                                                                                 Attribution: Mike

Image: Floating Lotus Shaped Chinese Lanterns

Source: Wikimedia Commons (here)

Endearing spirits

Of loved ones basking in lights

Of blissful Heavens

Returning  visits

To those living, with blessings

For goodness in life

Lighted lanterns show

path back to Heaven’s gates

to return later

Privileged few who

remember their ancestors

can expect visits

Written for Chev's CARPE DIEM #323 with prompt -  threnody shared with
d'Verse's with Bjorn's hosting at OpenLinkNights week #118

Behind the Mean Look

                                                                                     Courtesy of Tess' Mag 190
Image: The guard dog
Source: Wikimedia Commons (here)

It is looking out
The mean look gets one jumpy
This is fair warning

This is his turf, takes
to wrestling,tossing,freestyle
Better take notice

Lurks behind the fence
Play-acting but be careful
Known to jump over

Written for Tess' Magpie Tales #190, Mary's hosting at Poets United's Poetry Pantry #171
and Kerry's hosting at Real Toad's Open Link Monday

In a drunken stupor!

Image: Courtesy of Grandma's

I hear voices in a drunken stupor
It's funny! We doctors can sometimes
'see' the future just by listening
I advise you not to go on drinking

(140 characters)

Linda at Grandma's Goulash, Succinctly Yours week 134 provided the
above sketch for a Micro Fiction of not exceeding 140 characters and to
include the word  - stupor.

It’s Beyond Redemption!

                                                                       Attribution: West Midlands Police

Image: Early Morning Drugs Raid
Source:  Wikimedia Commons (here)

Having seen the flower children

with ‘flowers in their hair’. The 60’s

were times of discoveries. It was

respectable and acceptable to

dig the drugs scene then.

More so when musical’s greats were leading

and lending a hand. The drug scenes were the pull

factor. Hendricks, Joplin guitar strumming

and belting great songs. Lennon with sleep-ins

it was all fun and games.  Dr Timothy and LSD

gave the ‘license’ at the appropriate time

And the flower children? They were lucky, yes,

all were lucky. Why?  weed and grass were

apparently mild then!

Big money brought more daring variants

Acid, ice and what-have-you, made the scene

Expensive drugs,  fashionable but lethal

Some were not even known or readily

available but prescribed to Hollywood greats

I missed my idols, I missed Elvis, MJ and a host

of others knocked senseless

The game is still being played, the drug scene

is still very much alive. But the players

are different. Drug mules tricked into carrying them
across borders.  Languishing in jails the world
over either serving life terms or awaiting
execution. The end users at dark alleys and
street corners in deathly stupor. It's no more
just a fix. It's suicidal!

The drug barons on the contrary are enjoying their

ill-gotten gains without as much a conscience

The drug scene is beyond redemption!

Fireblossom is hosting at Real Toads with prompt - redemption

Lingers in Memory

                                                                            Attribution: Dababarata Ghosh

Image: A serene morning
Source: Wikimedia Commons (here)

Written in memory of a wonderful

gentleman, Dave King

Emptiness softly

engaging a warm soul

with empty feelings

Perfect gentleman

Left a void that struck hard

on terms of friendship

Heavy heart held high

Unforgettable talents

Shell of memories

Written for Brian's hosting at d'Verse Meeting the Bar: To friends and Chev’s CARPE DIEM #319 with prompt - shell

A Step A Time

                                                                   Author: Loadmaster (D.R. Tribble 

Image: On a Concrete Step Ledge
Source: Wikimedia Commons (here)

Taking a step a time

Walk don’t run

Easy does it!

Not stepping out of line

A common compromise

Not upsetting the apple cart

Stepping on a toe

One ought to be careful

Lest one get rewarded with a bloody nose

Walking in steps

Like soldiers do

Disciplined and proper

Step in the right direction

It’s a good education

Dignified with successful conclusion

Taking many steps

Play safe with

Life’s choices

Stepping stones in discoveries

So is the thinking!

Written for Mary's hosting at  Poetry Jam with prompt  - steps

The All-Important Announcement!

                                                           Attribution: Andrea Westmoreland

Image: A Pair of Egret

Source: Wikimedia Commons (here)

Sunday Whirl Wordle #129 with the 12 words:

basket blinked chance clever flesh hand

nest ripe saw secret stars swept

This is a late response to the Sunday Whirl which is now 

submitted for the OpenLinkNight

The great Egret couple

Dancing hand in hand

Emerging through a misty morning

From a rain swept night of cold showers
That tugged at the raw flesh

Heavy rain that threatened the security

Accorded by its nest of twigs interlacing

Brilliantly woven in intricate fashion

In a clever way in mystical conjecture

To  welcome the next generation

of young egret chicks

In a basket of a fashionable home

Mother egret rubbed her eyes, blinked

By chance saw the reassuring presence

Of its head of the household

It was the ripe time she realized

to reveal the secret she harbored

alone for so long

With stars twinkling in her eyes

She declared proudly

Reliving that special moment

Of all mothers-to-be

‘I’m pregnant’

Written for Sunday Whirl Wordle #129 and shared with
Brian's hosting at d'Verse OpenLinkNight #117

Strangers in the Night

                                                                                      User: Martin Hagberg
Image: The President Awarding the Medal of Freedom to Frank Sinatra
Source: Wikimedia Commons (here)

The song was made famous in 1966 by Frank Sinatra. It was the title song for Sinatra's 1966 album Strangers in the Night, which became his most commercially successful album. The song also reached number one on the UK Singles Chart.

Sinatra's recording won him the Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance and the Grammy Award for Record of the Year, as well as a Grammy Award for Best Arrangement Accompanying a Vocalist or Instrumentalist for Ernie Freeman at the Grammy Awards of 1967  -  Wiki

Of such a wonder

Of Sinatra and his song

Of unmatched talents

Of nostalgic strains

Of strong bidding for the top

Grabbed honors all round

Note: I had written this without looking at Kris' posting prior to writing. Pardon me for the similar utterances. I decided to let it be without having to post another one. Just shows how 'strangers' can evoke an immediate reaction to Frank's song!

Written for Chev’s CARPE DIEM #316 with prompt  -  strangers and Mary's
posting at Poets United's Poetry Pantry #170

Hitting Hard on Punctuality

                                                                                       Image by Crilleb50

Image: Courtesy of Tess' Mag 

He failed once again

He did it once before

He was punished

He didn’t seem to learn

Now he is back here

The angels were efficient

The moment it happened

And ‘swish’ he was transported here
That split of a second!

But why did he do it

He was supposed to be on time

Now he’s here a second time

He has to do penance

He has to sit at the bench

The first time he had to sit for a day

For being one hour late

Now he has to sit for half a day

For being a half hour late

He has to be taught a lesson

He must learn to be punctual

Written for Tess' Magpie Tales #189

The Privilege of Older Men

                                                                                   Attribution: Brad Beattie
Image: Taken out for Halloween during Carving
Source: Wikimedia Commons (here)

As both saw palmetto and pumpkin seed extracts benefit prostate health, taking these at the same time may provide synergistic effects. Men who took a combination of saw palmetto and pumpkin seed extracts experienced significant positive effects with no adverse side effects.
But more recent studies however found that saw palmetto was no better at alleviating the symptoms than taking a placebo pill  -  Wiki

Suffers  in silence

Privilege of older men

An enlarged prostate

Relief in combined

saw palmetto and pumpkin

seed herbal extract

But recent studies

on saw palmetto alone

not encouraging

Perhaps the pumpkin

seed element saves the day

all these while.. may be

Note:  Just a matter-of-fact comment of what ailment the burly hunks face in later years

Written in haiku for Brian's hosting at d’Verse Poetics:  Issues with pumpkins

Never Had it so Good!

                                                                                     Attribution: Roland zh
Image: Autumn Leaves
Source: Wikimedia Commons (here)

Anger, raving mad!

What!  Summer fleetingly gone?

Gosh, never had it so good!

What do I see now?

Brown, unsmiling looking trees!

Cannot wait for White Christmas.
(experimenting with punctuation in poetry)

Note:

1.    Are there those who should

           fail to see the beauty of Autumn?

Written for Chev’s CARPE DIEM " Little Ones" #5
a sedoka, a short poetry form with 2 stanzas of 5-7-7 each

What of Vision Quest

                                                                              Attribution: Oliver Herold
Image: Ideal setting For a Vision Quest Retreat
Source: Wikimedia Commons (here)

Vision quest:  A period of spiritual seeking often undertaken as a puberty rite. 

It typically involves isolation, fasting, and the inducement of a trance state in
a forest environment. It’s  for the purpose of attaining guidance or knowledge
from supernatural forces  -  Wiki

What of vision quest

Initiation ritual

From child to adult

Spiritual nature

Energies of creation

Guiding life’s purpose

Test of adulthood

Through chasms of discoveries

Shadowed by elders

Written for Chev's CARPE DIEM #314 with prompt vision quest

A Godfather’s Natural Take

                                                                                        Author:  Unknown

Image: Puppetmaster hand from the movie Godfather

Source: Wikimedia Commons (here)

3 Word Wednesday  -  Allege Conceal Propose

Theme Thursday  -  cement

He is quick to act

A Godfather’s natural take

Will impose his will immediately

Let it be known

Don’t mess around with me!

Not to conceal his odds

The underlings had better understand

His purpose in life

Is to be all-powerful

Be it in strength

Or in finance

Work and perform with me!

Propose whatever to whet his ego

Hard hearted he’s no fool

Refrain from small talk

Never to allege against anyone within

Lest he gets suspicious of one’s agenda

If ever it comes to that

Then pick your choice

To be buried in cement

Either in a shallow grave

Or in a used oil-drum

It’s  morbid

I sense betrayal in seconds!

Written for ThomG’s 3WW (Allege Conceal Propose) and

Mrsupol’s Theme Thursday

Just So There's a Good Laugh!

                                                                Author: Ardizzone, Edward Jeffrey Irving
Image: Having a Good Laugh
Source: Wikimedia Commons (here)

A ladies’ pastime snack

So they say

He said, she said

Lots of groundswell

Juicy ones get better treatment

Building up an arsenal

Can be handy

To get the mortal flatfooted

Sometime later in the future

Healthy as a conversation piece

Unhealthy of negative consequences

Oddly enough though

Among men there are gossips too

But the underlying motive

Is more of having fun

Just so there’s a good laugh

Of the mortal’s antics

Which painted out

To be silly and plain stupid

On how he should get himself

caught over a silly thing

No judgement nor ulterior  intentions

Just so there’s a good laugh

Written for Kim's hosting at Poets United Verse First with the notion, He said, She said  -  gossips

An Eclipse to Outshine

                                                                                          Attribution: Bree
Image: Eclipse Glasses
Source: Wikimedia Commons (here)

As when the Sun, new risen,
Looks through the horizontal misty air,
Shorn of his beams, or from behind the Moon,
In dim eclipse, disastrous twilight sheds
On half the nations, and with fear of change
perplexes monarchs                                        -  John Milton's Paradise Lost

We are to write a haiku or haiku set from a distillation of the above excerpt:

Tries hard to impose
Hidden in shadowy form
The sun bids its place

An eclipse takes form
Envelops half the world to
submission meekly

Written for Chev's Distillation #3 and shared with Claudia's hosting
d'Verse OpenLinkNight week #116

What of The Eclipse

                                                                               Attribution: Javichu el Jerfe
Image:  A Solar Eclipse
Source: Wikimedia Commons (here)

It’s either a solar eclipse, when the Moon's shadow crosses the
Earth's surface, or a lunar eclipse, when the Moon moves into
the Earth's shadow  - Wiki

In ancient times it was believed a dragon was about to swallow the
Moon and the villagers would beat gongs to scare the dragon away

In modern times dark exposed negatives were used to view the
spectacular event. Dark sunglasses were not protection enough

Solar or lunar

In both instances the moon

came by into play

Gobbled by dragons?

Averted  with din of gongs

Earthlings did their part

Exposed negatives

better than sunglasses or

even telescopes

Written for Chev’s CARPE DIEM #311 with prompt - eclipse  as
proposed by Bjorn