From the Vault: Halloween Time (poem)

The following poem was composed when I was a student at Bernon Heights Elementary School, probably when I was in the second or third grade. It won some kind of school-wide poetry contest that was being held then, and I and the rest of the winners had to go down to a local radio station and read our poem on-air, which was, needless to say, an interesting experience.



"Halloween Time"
by James Champagne

It's Halloween, and the Ghostly Queen,
is sending out monsters all slimy and green.
On the streets are headless goons,
and a wicked witch flies past the moon.
Jack-o-lantern's eyes are bright,
as people run in terror or fright.
A ghost goes and haunts a house,
scaring away a giant mouse.
The werewolves run and bite people they've never met,
causing many horrible deaths.
Vampires bite people on the necks,
a giant frog says "Blech!"
But out comes the sun, the monsters run,
and Halloween is all done.

* * * *

Some tortured rhyming aside, I kind of like the Edward Gorey-ish vibe of this piece, and it interests me that so many years later I'm still mining the same horrific/monster imagery that so obsessed me when I was a child. Everyday is Halloween indeed!