By the Light of a Gibbous Moon

Beside the silent water,

the forest's ravelin

of cernuous willows

admires its reflection,

silvered by the gibbous moon.

The dark between the trees

hides witches,wolves

and weirdward things,

and any bird that dares to sing

is shouted down by raucous crows.

The undergrowth whispers secret names

of children lost to childhood's games.

The smoke from the chimney

of the house in the woods,

redoles of innocents'

riding hoods.

Here is the church,

here is the steeple,

let's bar the doors

to frightened people.

Beneath the brackish water,

the young of Hamelin

take desperate swallows,

expire in reflections

illumined by the gibbous moon.

Footnote:

'redoles' is a neologism, or a re-found word, extrapolated from the archaic 'redoling'
(OED)