Allhallowtide

The graves stood tenantless, and the sheeted dead

Did squeak and gibber in the Roman streets

—Hamlet, act 1, scene 1

Although the dead so seldom drink,

We serve them as we do ourselves,

Those fading proxies for our fears,

Necessary to the revels

Celebrated at Halloween.

My neighbors put out plastic bones,

Which grow in whimsy with the years.

PVC skeletons abound—

Just over there, a polyvinyl

Hound's bones bay at a missing moon!

This Halloween, the shaky ground

Trembles beneath our pricey homes,

And on our phones, the shit-faced dead

Squeak and gibber beside each bed.

Monday, October 6, 2025