Halloween in Massachusetts

 [Inspired by Halloween in Nahant, Salem, and Boston 2026]

Burgundy,

Burnt maroon,

                Ochre,

                           Amber,

                                    And apricot leaves

Pirouette and piqué

On Nahant’s crab- pincered

Post-summer sand;

A mollusc mausoleum;

A cemetery for souls

That once moved

                    Beneath

                            The Massachusetts Bay.

Later,

Interwoven whispers summoned by

                                                Serpentine stone cats

                                                And tourmalinated quartz,

Become beached after listening to

The calm and captivating callings of epidote

At the Mercy Tavern -

Where beguiled boats

Haunted by

The bodies of

Bootleggers,

                                    Salem’s sailors,

                                                And prehnite-pilfered pirates

Are      found.

 

Patchouli protection balm

Oozes from awry arteries;

From the blood of beasts

Parading down Essex Street

In Salem;

A hermitage

For Simon Armitage   - type

                                        Clown Punk[s].

 

When pilgrims reach the red brick of

Rock Bottom,

And meet Samuel Adams’ intoxicating sparkle,

Prophetic phantoms of Proctor, Putnam, and Paris

                                                                        Appear.

Spirits revisit Beacon Hill with veins full of vengeance,

Before retiring to Boston’s bewitching common

At twilight.

 

Such is Halloween night

In Massachusetts.