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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.

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    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!

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    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.

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  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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    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.

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    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!

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    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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