Last Night, on Hallow's Eve

Cherry

By luigi_pagano

Sun, 01 Nov 2020
  • 1998 reads
12 comments
 
Last night at midnight
I went to the cemetery
expecting to see ghosts
moaning and writhing
in emotional distress.
I wanted to observe
the struggle they had
keeping at arm's length
Azrael's grasping hand
trying to despoil bodies
of the souls therein.
How riveting, I thought,
to hear the Angel of Death
reading the roll call
of those who were to perish
giving them cause to grieve
on a moonlit Hallow's Eve.
But everything was quiet
among the marble graves
and that eerie silence
was more unnerving
than ghoulish apparitions.
I didn't think I'd feel
a shiver down my spine
and, though all was fine,
I took to my heels
and quickly ran away.
 
 
© Luigi Pagano 2020
Certificate U
Poem
Mutevoli pensieri
Inspiration Point (work that responds to our weekly writing cue)

Comments

Submitted by hudsonmoon on

I'm with you, Luigi. Give me a moaning ghoul or two. If left alone in a dead-slent cemetary it's a race to the front gate. Loved it, Luigi.

Rich

 

Submitted by marandina on

"Azrael's grasping hand" Super stuff

 

Submitted by luigi_pagano on

Thanks for your gracious remark, Paul.
I haven't crossed your path before and thought at first that you were a new contributor but I see that you have been a member of ABCtales as long as I have. Nice to meet you.

Best, Luigi

 

Submitted by luigi_pagano on

Better to be safe than sorry, as the saying goes, Rich.

My thanks to you for your lovely comment and to the kind donor of succulent cherries. smiley

Best wishes, Luigi.

 

Submitted by Tom Brown on

Good! The better part of valour.

 

Submitted by luigi_pagano on

As you rightly say, Tom, discretion is the better part of valour. Very apt,

Thanks for your feedback, Luigi.

 

Submitted by onemorething on

Excellent and very appropriate. A couple of years my cat went missing and he'd been spotted in the cemetery near me and it was this time of year so I used to call and check when I got home from work - mostly though I was too terrified to make it much past the gate and would run back out. I can definitely testify to the fact that they are irrationally scary places in the dark silence! 

 

Submitted by luigi_pagano on

Exactly so, Rachel. The irrational fear is perhaps caused by the association of ideas in relation to death and reincarnation.
As far as cats going walkabout, I wouldn't worry. One of my daughter's cats jumped through a gap in the fence of her back garden and disappeared. She was frantic and kept calling his name to no avail. I assured her that he would come back in his own time as cats have a homing instinct and, sure enough, three days later he was at the back door meowing for food. 
I hope you found your missing pussy cat.

Luigi x

 

 

Submitted by onemorething on

Yes, he did return, but only because his chip was read and I got a call to pick him up - he had been gone for six months and I had lost all hope of finding him. He had got lost and walked from Bath to almost Bristol and had been living in a coal shed! Needless to say he was happy to be found and home! 

 

Submitted by luigi_pagano on

Pleased that you were reunited, Rachel.

Luigi x

 

Submitted by Insertponceyfre... on

That's such a lovely ending to your story onemore - and after six months!

Love this poem Luigi - silence can be surprisingly unnerving! I hope you're going to repeat your success at our new reading event? Would love to see you there!

 

Submitted by luigi_pagano on

I hope to be able to participate unless something unexpected intervenes. I'll keep you posted.