With bitter regret, mine heart's been ladenSince Hallowmas when thou our bed-vow brokeAnd now perjured be roam I loath-burdenedWaiting for the day this prank I do choke Post hoc thine eyes see I as woeful shameThe smartest joke thine evils fortifiedNow my dreamy languor's found a new aimTo maim and deflate thou who art still... Continue Reading →
Bird Sonnet by Calm Kate
I’m not one for scary goblins or ghostsindeed I much prefer birds and flowersuntil I met a raven who dare boastsabout his huge beak vomiting showers of slimy creepy crawlies for some hoursas flocks of big beaked birds came hurtling downfelt freaky, like they had scary powersfear arose that creepy crawlies would drown Hitchcock touched... Continue Reading →
Sonnet at the witching hour
This is a sonnet at the witching hourthe moon is high, the wind moans through the treesdead leaves and petals dance from every bowerand flutter down, borne on the autumn breeze to stone cold earth, to rot and decomposeas death's cold season draws on, ever nearera single, late blooming and blood-red rosetempts with its scent,... Continue Reading →
Three new poems published in Halloween/Revolution Chapbook!
After sharing with you some of my failed competition entries, I am delighted to announce that I have finally won a poetry competition: a wonderful Halloween treat! I found the competition, from Friends of Dorothy Poetry Series, on Instagram. The call was to 'Submit 2 poems, 1 on Halloween, 1 on Revolution, no more than... Continue Reading →
‘It’s Halloween’ Published at Spillwords Press
I am delighted to announce another publication at Spillwords today, my poem 'It's Halloween.' This is my 'Anthropocene Halloween' poem, addressing some issues which I find truly frightening at this moment. I hope you'll head over there to read the poem. My thanks to Dagmara and the editorial team for their continued support. A reminder... Continue Reading →
Sonnet Sunday inspiration #2: Content
As Halloween Sonnet Sunday draws nearer, my email inbox is filling up with spooky sonnets... be sure to get yours in before it is too late! Last week, we took a closer look at the sonnet form, but how about content? As I've said before, it's your sonnet, so the content is entirely up to... Continue Reading →
🎃🎃🎃 Special Announcement: Halloween Sonnet Sunday! 🎃🎃🎃
I realise it's been a while since I hosted a Sonnet Sunday as I have been very busy with dVerse, publishing a book, trying to finish my novel, etc. What better time to revive this poetry party than Halloween? Last year's EIF Halloween Poetry Challenge was a spooky success, and I'm hoping to recapture some... Continue Reading →
EIF Halloween Poetry Challenge: The Results!
The time has come, for tricks and treats, for fiendish fun and frights, and for the announcement of the EIF Halloween Poetry Challenge winning entries! This week, we had a frightfully good response, and I would like to thank everyone who entered. I had so much spooky fun reading your entries. A special thanks to... Continue Reading →
Bewitched – Short Fiction #Halloween
For two weeks, I haunted the cemetery lodge. I was going through a phase of house-sitting, as I no longer wanted to live at home but couldn't afford to move out and live independently. The lodge was centuries old. The family who lived there were away on holiday. They'd left to my care their menagerie... Continue Reading →
‘Jack-o-Lantern’ published at Spillwords Press today
Today my Halloween poem, 'Jack-o-Lantern' is published at Spillwords Press. You may have already read it on this site, but I am very grateful to Spillwords for bringing my Halloween message to a larger audience: This Halloweenthe sky may well appearthe colour of the carved-out pumpkin’s eye;perhaps not time to celebratebut high time that we... Continue Reading →