October 31st Quotes

“Halloween is a great holiday for any actor if you think about it. It's all about dress-up and playing characters. So yeah, it's always had a special place for me.”
― Nicolas Cage

“Be careful what you wish for, especially during the season of the dead.”
― Byrd Nash, Delicious Death

“Pomona's Feast by Stewart Stafford

Home from aggressive begging on November Eve,
A horror movie that won't be finished in the background,
The pirate's booty or robber's swag is examined.

Face in the bag, a cornucopia of scents in the nostrils:
Oranges, nuts, burnt popcorn, chocolate,
Toffee apples, crisps, Liquorice Allsorts, and Rice Krispie cakes.

A smörgåsbord Pomona's feast begins,
As a maternal voice advises frugality,
To no avail.

Noses in the trough,
Nothing eaten bears any relation to the thing eaten before or after,
Aching gums, jaws, and bellies swiftly ensue.

To bed to sleep it off,
The next morning, it's déjà vu,
The maternal voice again advises eating breakfast first, to no avail.

© Stewart Stafford, 2021. All rights reserved.”
― Stewart Stafford

“Halloween can never be a negative, it celebrates the imagination. Everyone is smiling, you see more of your community and neighbours than at any other time, and it makes people believe, young and old, that the world might be a kind, friendly, and helpful place on their journey.”
― Stewart Stafford

“The Reaper's Harvest by Stewart Stafford

Vast underworld gates open on Samhain night,
The grail Sun winters there, in paling sight.
Unquiet spirits swarm forth in feral misprision,
Trick-or-treat landlords knock in spectral vision.

Autumn, perennially-early to Death's season,
Winter's welcome overstayed in icy reason.
Spring's distant wave thrills in emerging seed,
Summer's blush in full alignment decreed.

Snowflake to blossom, and greenery to withering;
As effigy reminders of cyclical dithering,
Seasonal standing stones sink to shifting sands,
Saplings of the forest’s new strength, in nature’s hands.

© 2024, Stewart Stafford. All rights reserved.”
― Stewart Stafford