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Poetry Friday: Spooktober Concludes

It's been great fun this month writing Inktober-inspired haiku, senryu and tanka poems. You can see my prompt list and the first week of poems here, the second week of poems here, and the third week here.

I hope you've enjoyed these mostly spooky, sometimes nature-inspired, occasionally random (baseball playoffs!) poems. 

So now, without further ado, here is the Spooktacular conclusion to my Spooktober project!

Spooktober Poem 23: Bat Batter swings. Thwack! Whoosh! Ball flies to the outfield, drops. Playoff game. Home run! © 2021, Elisabeth Norton


Spooktober Poem 24: Demon Demon or Angel, Which costume for Halloween? The problem I face: I can’t decide if I feel More tricky or sweet tonight! © 2021, Elisabeth Norton


Spooktober poem 25: Spell When the teacher said “Spell ‘cat’,” I thought: I know how! For extra credit, I conjured up eleven. Now all we hear is MEOW! © 2021, Elisabeth Norton


Spooktober Poem 26: Elf I’ve been planning my Trick-or-Treat trick all year long. My costume’s a hit! I came straight from work in my Santa’s Workshop uniform. © 2021, Elisabeth Norton
Spooktober Poem 27: Gravestone Here lies my homework, Sure to cause my teacher grief. Cause of Death: Neglect. © 2021, Elisabeth Norton
Spooktober Poem 28: Owl Camouflaged by day, When night falls, I wake and take silent flight. whooo-whooo. © 2021, Elisabeth Norton


Spooktober Poem 29: Spider Web Dawn’s dewy spangles Dangle from delicate threads, Disappear by noon © 2021, Elisabeth Norton

Spooktober Poem 30: Vampire Excuse me, waiter? There’s a problem with my meal. I said “No garlic!” © 2021, Elisabeth Norton

Spooktober Poem 31: Halloween Candy, bought. Pumpkin, Carved. Face, painted. Costume, donned. Time to Trick-or-Treat! © 2021, Elisabeth Norton

Our host for Poetry Friday this week is Linda at Teacher Dance. Hop on over to her blog for links to this week's round of poetic goodness.

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Comments

  1. Linda MitchellOctober 29, 2021 at 11:58 AM

    Fabulous! And, look! You've made a whole collection...ready to publish. I love the fun and humor in all your poems. The poem, 'Spell' made me laugh out loud.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ElisabethNovember 8, 2021 at 11:58 AM

      Thank you Linda! It's been a fun project to work on.

      Delete
  2. Linda BOctober 29, 2021 at 10:18 PM

    Oh my, I love that secret smile lurking in 'Vampire' & 'Gravestone' gave me a big laugh. I am a former teacher! Linda is right - work on these for a Halloween poetry book, Elisabeth!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Linda Kulp TroutOctober 30, 2021 at 1:42 AM

    Elisabeth, so many great poems, it was hard to choose my favorite, but I love the wordplay in "Spider Web." Brilliant!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ElisabethNovember 8, 2021 at 12:00 PM

      As I reply I realize that the first three comments on this post were all from people named "Linda" :-). Thank you for your comments, Linda KT. It was fun to try to weave some nature/autumn-themed poems in among the Halloween-themed poems, to try to capture the month of October in more fullness than just one holiday.

      Delete
  4. Mary LeeOctober 30, 2021 at 2:18 PM

    I'm laughing out loud, after a long pause to get the joke in SPELL. Love it! GRAVESTONE is also very fun. Well played! You have made a month of treasure!

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    Replies
    1. ElisabethNovember 8, 2021 at 12:00 PM

      Thanks Mary Lee! I'm wondering what other themes I might tackle in a similar way another time.

      Delete
  5. Janice ScullyOctober 30, 2021 at 2:26 PM

    Nice work, Elizabeth! My favorite is the Spider haiku, with all the D alliteration. I also love the energy in the last one.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Susan T.October 31, 2021 at 3:36 PM

    These are so great, Elisabeth! The baseball poem for the 23rd is so evocative of fall for me; one year I watched every single playoff game and the World Series. It's been a while since I've done that, but the memory lingers.

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    Replies
    1. ElisabethNovember 8, 2021 at 12:01 PM

      Oh I'm so glad to hear that you enjoyed the baseball poem, Susan. I wasn't sure if it was too far out in left field ( LOL :-) to include that one. I'm glad it brought a fall memory to mind for you.

      Delete
  7. Margaret SimonOctober 31, 2021 at 8:25 PM

    Look at all these poems! Makes me wish I had done Inktober. I love the way they look on your page. Did you use a special formatting or create images for each one?

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    Replies
    1. ElisabethOctober 31, 2021 at 8:48 PM

      Thanks Margaret! I created images for each poem. I added 'alttext' to each one so they would still be accessible to people who use screen readers for website accessibility.

      Delete
  8. Carol VarsalonaNovember 1, 2021 at 2:19 AM

    Elisabeth, I see you have been very busy with your haikus. I like Gravestone the best because it made me smile and I think it would make a great Halloween poster in your yard. Kids and teachers would enjoy this haiku but all of your poems make for a great Spooktacular Project.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ElisabethNovember 8, 2021 at 12:02 PM

      What a clever idea, Carol! I never thought about taking a poem and turning it into a decoration like that!

      Delete
  9. JoneNovember 1, 2021 at 4:04 AM

    The vampire one reminds me how my husband and I rubbed garlic on our arms while watching vampire movies to scare our daughter when she was a teen.

    ReplyDelete
  10. laurasalasNovember 1, 2021 at 9:25 PM

    What an assortment--the 27th made me laugh out loud, and the 29th, with its "spangles dangle" and wonderful alliteration made me see spiderwebs anew, even though I've read many spiderweb poems. Wonderful!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ElisabethNovember 8, 2021 at 1:39 PM

      Thanks for your comments, Laura. The spiderweb poem was inspired by one I saw on a walk. As soon as I saw the sunlight highlighting the dewdrops, I knew I wanted to try to capture that in a poem.

      Delete

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