Cramp Entry- Halloween Night Poem

Word count: 262


The month's not yet over,
'Tis the end of October-
One's breath can be seen in the air.
'Tis the night Death awakens
And lives risk being taken,
So, come, venture out- if you dare.

What you see and you hear
Any night of the year,
I must say, no sight doth compare
To the sights that are seen-
Unclean and obscene-
These sights
On this night,
So beware.

The kids beg for candy,
That's all fine and dandy,
But I speak of a darker affair.
Of souls who unduly
Are lost,
And are truly
The ones whose good deeds are quite rare.

No monsters or witches
Can quiver my britches,
Either, or both, I don't care.
No goblins,
No ghosts,
Nay, the ones I fear most
Are the ones whom dark burdens must bear.

Most have done sordid
(And some, even morbid)
Deeds of which we're unaware.
We're all flawed,
Of course,
But we feel remorse;
While they feel a lust when they err.

Sobbing and screams
Are things of their dreams,
They see pleasure where others,
Despair.
And though, once a child,
Their innocence-
Defiled;
Their conscience-
Beyond all repair.

As plain as if they were
Your own next-door neighbour,
Or the barber
Who tends to your hair.
You can't pick them out
From a crowd,
Without doubt;
For it's not in the clothes that they wear.

So, I would advise,
Should you surmise
That my words are meant only to scare:
Venture out with a friend,
For you might meet your end,
Chained to the wall of my lair.