On being asked to write about what this date, celebrated as
Halloween (which is based on Samhain) truly means to me.
Halloween (which is based on Samhain) truly means to me.
Tonight
I would light a candle.
I would stand it
beside your photo.
Tonight
I’d recall
the daily rituals
of our time together.
Tonight
I’d set a place for you
at our table.
Tonight we’d feast.
If it were truly Samhain
here in the warm South,
that is what I’d do.
However, it’s Beltane.
The hot, hot summer
is coming. But
the way we ushered it in
my dear, is over.
You are ghost or angel,
more ethereal than smoke.
And I shall be lighting
no fires tonight.
no fires tonight.
Image: Beltane Fire Dancer by NataliaLeFay (free download)
Note: For those who don't know, Beltane is traditionally celebrated with sexual passion.
This was written when my late husband, Andrew, had been dead only two years. I'm sharing it now, 31 October 2025, with Poets and Storytellers United at Friday Writings #201: On Halloween. Having written a number of Halloween poems over the years, rather than write another I'm choosing to show this old one to an audience that didn't see it last time.
31 Poems in 31 Days (Poewar / Writers Resource Center). Prompt: Completion.
31 Poems in 31 Days (Poewar / Writers Resource Center). Prompt: Completion.
Also a follow-on to the previous poem, which was in response to Poets United's Midweek Motif: Halloween, or Celebrating the Dead.
I know what the names Samhain and Beltane mean, having read novels relating to those earlier Druidic times. They are also familiar in my far-memory of those times. Wistful memories, just as this poem.
ReplyDeleteModern Druids, witches and other Pagans still celebrate these Sabbats too.
DeleteWow~! Keep the memory of fire, my friend. Love.
ReplyDeleteThank you. Yes, I do. :)
DeleteMost interesting Rosemary! So it is not just chocs and sweets! Nice to be remembered with sweet memories!
ReplyDeleteHank
Rituals...what makes life meaningful! ~ Love the fire dance.
ReplyDeleteA great poem.
ReplyDeleteCommented earlier elsewhere - this is an exquisite poem - one of your best in a body of excellent work !
ReplyDeleteThanks to you all. I'm delighted you enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteThis saddens me, but it's so beautiful, Rosemary.
ReplyDeleteI am so glad you reposted this beautifully crisp, distilled and passionate memory - may you celebrate in the way that you and your beloved shared - Jae
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jae. Chocolate, loving thoughts, and a spot of poetry are good substitutes at this time, I think.
Deletevery nicely written...loved it
ReplyDeleteThank you, Nandini.
DeleteBeautiful!
ReplyDeleteSo glad you think so.
DeleteI like the way that you changed in your write from a solem celebration to a sad reverance to the loss of a loved one. A volta?
ReplyDeleteI think a volta is more sudden – also the term is only applied to the change of thought which occurs at the end of a sonnet. But I take your point. And I'm glad you liked that.
DeleteThe poem truly touched my soul. I wish well to your husband.
ReplyDeleteOne doesn’t need to be entirely rational to be human — it’s our belief in the unexplained and the unknown that brings mystery, hope, and colour to life. The same life energy that transforms an unseen union of two microscopic cells into a thinking, running, growing being must surely find its place somewhere after the body that once carried it fades away.
Yes indeed. Thank you.
DeleteI experienced body chills as I read your gorgeous poem ... thank you for gifting us.
ReplyDeleteOh, thank you for responding!
DeleteThanks so much for the "review of my performance" ~ though doubt I'll be repeating many.
ReplyDeleteOh, what a pity!
DeleteThat is really beautiful, and moving.
ReplyDeleteThank you Lisa, glad you found it so.
DeleteSome good things just come to an end...
ReplyDeleteThat's life, isn't it?
DeleteSad but lovely memory of Andrew. He is an angel now not a ghost.
ReplyDeleteYes, he is indeed.
DeleteNow that is the true spirit of Halloween! Well done, Rosemary.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Nick.
Delete