Special Feature: Halloween Haiku for Your Reading "Pleasure"

My Dear Readers:

It’s Halloween, everyone’s entitled to one good scare. -- Brackett, "Halloween," 1978

a skeleton

rattles the door ...

autumn wind

Neena Singh

All Souls’ Eve  --

tipping the spirit level

this way & that

Sandra Simpson

halloween night

a thin veil

between two worlds

Bernadette O’Reilly

halloween twilight

army helicopters

fill the sky

 

Roberta Beary

his scythe dripping blood

the Grim Reaper has stepped

right out of my dreams

shrouded head to toe 

in red a girl skims ghostlike 

through the dark, scything

the buzz and flicker

of War Cemetery's "War"

Eve of All Hallows

Chen-ou Liu

To conclude today's Special Feature post, I would like to share with you the following scarily funny haiku:

night closing in

the gap-toothed smile

of a toddler ghost

Added:

sleepless again

I doomscroll through Trump zombie

and GAGA ghosts

Added:

this ghostly halo ...

my old friend's head

ringed by spiky strands

of white hair glittering

in Halloween moonlight

Butterfly Dream: Grim Reaper's Stare Haiku by K.G. Munro

English Original

tiger amulet 

on the front entrance ...

a grim reaper's stare

K.G. Munro

 

Chinese Translation (Traditional)

老虎護身符

懸掛在正門入口處 ...

Translation result在正門入口處 ...

死神的凝視

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

老虎护身符

悬挂在正门入口处 ...

死神的凝视

Bio Sketch 

 

K.G. Munro is an author and poet from Scotland. She has appeared in many journals and publications across the world such as Indian Periodical, Feversofthemind, The Well, Mad In America, Pawners Papers, AThinSliceOfAnxiety, Spillwords, Reformed Journal, Agape Review.

Special Feature: Halloween Haiku

My Dear Readers:

It’s Halloween, everyone’s entitled to one good scare. -- Brackett, "Halloween," 1978

gathering dark

the masked Grim Reaper's eyeballs

bulge out of his skull

Chen-ou Liu

pointed hats dip

into black inked sky

a constellation of witches

Karen A VandenBos

a skeleton

rattles the door ...

autumn wind

Neena Singh

trick-or-treating

the warmth

of the skeleton's hand

Michelle Schaefer

dripping sweet

the vampire fangs

wax candy

Richard L. Matta

All Souls Day

so many masks

left behind 

David McKe

To conclude today's "Special Feature" post, I would like to share with you the following haiku sequence:

Three Hundred and Fifty-Second Entry, Coronavirus Poetry Diary

written in response to CBC News, Oct. 27: "How to celebrate Halloween safely this year with COVID-19 and other viruses lurking: Infectious diseases expert says exposure may put strain on overburdened health network

The Safest Halloween Ever 😅

Halloween eve

a new wave of lockdowns

in China

subvariants surging ...

a gang of grim reapers

double masked

trick or treat ...

Reese's Cups, M&M's and a box

of rapid tests

Added: written in response to the South Korea Halloween stampede

two red handprints

on Happy Halloween ...

150 deaths

Added: written in response to USA Today, Nov 3: Seoul, South Korea Halloween stampede leaves over 150 dead

row upon row of shoes

with name tags to be filled out ...

Halloween stampede 

FYI: The New Yorker, Nov.2 : In Itaewon, Another Betrayal of Young Koreans.

The nation’s abiding emotion is, understandably, grief. But there is also a blood-boiling rage...Why have politicians and bureaucrats, of both major parties, failed so radically at the basic provision of public safety?

Butterfly Dream: First Trick and Treat Haiku by Barry George

English Original

first trick or treat ...

the toddler reaches 

for her mother’s face

Third Prize, 2005 The Betty Drevniok Award

Barry George 

Chinese Translation (Traditional)

第一次不給糖就搗蛋 ...

蹣跚學步的孩子伸手去摸

她媽媽的臉

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

第一次不给糖就捣蛋 ...

蹒跚学步的孩子伸手去摸

她妈妈的脸

Bio Sketch

Barry George is the author of Wrecking Ball and Other Urban Haiku and The One That Flies Back, a tanka collection. A regular contributor to haiku and tanka journals, he has won numerous short-form competitions, including First Prize in the Gerald R. Brady Contest. He lives and teaches in Philadelphia. 

A Room of My Own: Omicron Strains and Halloween Skeletons Tanka

Three Hundred and Fiftieth Entry, Coronavirus Poetry Diary

immune-evasive

Omicron strains are coming ...

skeletons

hang from an oak tree

in Halloween dusk

FYI: Yahoo News, October 12: WHO issues new warning over winter flu surge and COVID wave.

And CNBC, Oct. 28: Omicron subvariants resistant to key antibody treatments are increasing every week in the U.S.

The subvariants BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 now represent 27% of infections in the U.S., a significant jump from the week prior when they made up about 16% of new cases, according to CDC data published Friday.

Added: Three Hundred and Fifty-First Entry

cold and flu season

with covid19 in the mix ...

layers of dark clouds

FYI: The Washington Post, Oct. 28: So far, this flu season is more severe than it has been in 13 years 

And Democracy Now, Oct.27: Children’s Hospitals See Surge in RSV as Experts Warn of Winter "Tripledemic" of Respiratory Illness

Public health experts in the United States are warning of a possible "tripledemic" of respiratory illness this winter: an increase in COVID cases, an early flu season and a surge in cases of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). 

Added: This Brave New World, LXI

written on the Day of Halloween and in response to Amanda Gorman's tweet, "One Education under Desks"

Attack of Fright

this unspoken weight 

of a plantation ghost story 

clomp! clomp! clomp! ...

gunshots outside 

under the teacher's desk

two skeletons

FYI: The following is the full text:

Schools scared to death.

The truth is, one education under desks,

Stooped low from bullets;

That plunge when we ask

Where our children

Shall live

& how

& if 

Special Feature: Halloween-Themed Haiku and Senryu

My Dear Readers:

It’s Halloween, everyone is entitled to one good scare (or one good laugh in the face of dark times):

twilight deepening

an army of the dead

... and a Trump lookalike

Chen-ou Liu

no way out

Death’s at the door

demanding candy 

LeRoy Gorman

trick-or-treating

the warmth

of the skeleton's hand

Michelle Schaefer

Halloween party --

after a few drinks

the masks come off

David Grayson

All Souls’ Eve  --

tipping the spirit level

this way & that

Sandra Simpson

To conclude today's Special Feature post, I would like to share with you the following pandemic Halloween haiku sequence:

Two Hundred and Eightieth Entry, Coronavirus Poetry Diary

Halloween: Behind The Mask

dripping blood

from my front door banner:

no trick or treat

hazy streetlight

teen vampires kissing

with masks under their chins

more hotspots 

added to the Covid heat map

déjà vu nightmare 

Stay safe and well

And Happy Halloween

Chen-ou

A Room of My Own: Masked Grim Reaper Haiku

Two Hundred and Seventy-Eighth Entry, Coronavirus Poetry Diary

written on Halloween Eve

gathering dark

the masked Grim Reaper's eyeballs

bulge out of his skull

Added: Two Hundred and Seventy-Ninth Entry

prolonged quarantine

the sound of midnight

rough sex next door

Halloween Haiku and Tanka: Finding One "Good Scare" in the Darkest of Covid19

                                                                                                                                One Hundred Thirty-Second  Entry, Coronavirus Poetry Diary

                                                                                  blue blood moon

                                                                                  between lines of Grim Reapers

                                                                                  spooky distancing

My Dear Friends:

Even in the darkest time of the entire pandemic, everyone is entitled to one good scare.

words tumble

from the mouths of pundits

all day long

produce aisles overflow

with faceless Halloween pumpkins

Janet Lynn Davis

front porch forum

a row of jack-o-lanterns

with VOTE masks

Chen-ou Liu

(to so-called "professional anarchists, violent mobs, arsonists, looters, criminals, rioters, Antifa...")

Halloween twilight

an army of the walking dead

... and a Trump lookalike

Chen-ou Liu

trick-or-treating

the warmth

of the skeleton's hand

Michelle Schaefer

Halloween party --

after a few drinks

the masks come off

David Grayson

All Souls Day

so many masks

left behind 

David McKe

Added: One Hundred Thirty-Third  Entry

Hogtown ghost house

under the blue blood moon

a Trump Tower

of giant jack-o-lanterns

with No Party masks

Note: Listen to the Haunted Hogtown (nickname Toronto): A historian walks us through the city’s spookiest stories podcast

A Room of My Own: Here and Gone

Halloween street party:
dads and moms
marching with arms linked
through an army
of rainbow-clad zombies

one by one
little zombies disappear
into the dark ...
on my long way home
a mix of rain and snow

One Man's Maple Moon: Halloween Pumpkins Tanka by Janet Lynn Davis

English Original

words tumble
from the mouths of pundits
all day long
produce aisles overflow
with faceless Halloween pumpkins

Janet Lynn Davis


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

從專家的嘴裡
言辭不間斷地翻滾出來
一整天
農產品貨架滿滿都是
沒有臉孔的萬聖節南瓜

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

从专家的嘴里
言辞不间断地翻滚出来
一整天
农产品货架满满都是
没有脸孔的万圣节南瓜


Bio Sketch

Janet Lynn Davis began her tanka journey in late 2005. Since then, her work has appeared in numerous familiar journals and anthologies, and she also has served the tanka community in various capacities. Janet currently lives in a rustic area of southeast Texas, away from the hustle-bustle of the big city.

Special Feature: Halloween-Themed Haiku Sequence

My Dear Readers:

It’s Halloween, everyone’s entitled to one good scare.
-- Brackett, Halloween, 1978

And

I would like, if I may, to take you on a strange journey.
--The Criminologist, The Rocky Horror Picture Show,  1975


Share with you the following Halloween-themed haiku sequence:

barefoot at the end
of the checkout line
crying Grim Reaper

Chen-ou Liu

Halloween --
I dress as the self
I left somewhere

Fay Aoyagi

blood dripping
off his silver scythe
4-foot Grim Reaper

Chen-ou Liu

Halloween twilight
again this year my son waits
alone by the door

Roberta Beary

Halloween dusk
the army of the dead
...and a barking dog

Chen-ou Liu

Halloween party --
after a few drinks
the masks come off

David Grayson

Halloween party
the lingering smell
of Grim Reaper

Chen-ou Liu


Happy Halloween and Be Safe

Chen-ou

Special Feature: Halloween Haiku

Halloween dusk
the army of the dead
...and a barking dog

Chen-ou Liu




Selected Haiku

 All Souls’ Eve --
tipping the spirit level
this way & that

Sandra Simpson

Halloween --
I dress as the self
I left somewhere

Fay Aoyagi

Halloween twilight
again this year my son waits
alone by the door

Roberta Beary

Halloween party --
after a few drinks
the masks come off

David Grayson

All Souls Day
so many masks
left behind

David McKe

this Halloween,
children born since
9/11

John Stevenson


Updated, November 1

Breaking News

white house leaks
onecrowafteranother
in the Halloween dusk

When the streets fall under a blanket of darkness, the army of the walking dead begins their march. On a street corner, a pitbull bares its teeth, growling. A high-pitched scream penetrates the night...

PoemHunter, November 2017

Butterfly Dream: Halloween Haiku by Fay Aoyagi

English Original

Halloween --
I dress as the self
I left somewhere

In Borrowed Shoes, 2006

Fay Aoyagi


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

萬聖節 --
將自己打扮成為
已在別處捨棄的自我

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

万圣节 --
将自己打扮成为
已在别处捨弃的自我


Bio Sketch

Fay Aoyagi （青柳飛）was born in Tokyo and immigrated to the U.S. in 1982. She is currently a member of Haiku Society of America and Haiku Poets of Northern California. She serves as an associate editor of The Heron's Nest.  She also writes in Japanese and belongs to two Japanese haiku groups; Ten'I (天為) and "Aki"（秋), and  she is a member of Haijin Kyokai (俳人協会).

A Room of My Own: Halloween Night Haiku

on a power line
onecrowafteranother
Halloween twilight