Happy Coming Halloween!



Blame Her Not

Can I cast blame for what she eats,
Or that she strolls where sunlight sleeps;
Or blame her that her skin is pale,
Whose lips are glist'ning red as ale?
Am I to cast accusing stares
And judge her not of wheat, but tares;
Or shun her for her blood-lust bent,
This girl whose heart for mine was meant?

I saw her wand'ring in the chill
Amid the fog and murky rill—
And starving, writhing there in pain,
She slipped into the town again ...
Who knows where all that hunger led,
But townsmen found another dead:
A victim's corpse left by the mill,
And yet I cannot blame her still.

About this poem

I have always thought it tragic how, after having been bitten by a vampire, the victim is then subjugated by an irresistible desire for the blood of humans—governed by a new and a dark nature whose urges they are now incapable of suppressing. Yes, it is mythic folklore, but the thought still persists. So sad. That said, happy Halloween ahead ...

Font size:
Collection  PDF     
 

Submitted by Vixility on October 13, 2024

Modified by Vixility on October 14, 2024

39 sec read
534

Quick analysis:

Scheme X AXBBXACC DDEEFFDD
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 600
Words 127
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 1, 8, 8

John W. May

John W. May has lived in Colorado all his life. He currently works in the field of ophthalmology and loves to mountain bike and read about history. John first became a lover of poetry in 2008 after having read a poem by John Milton. He has been reading and studying the works of various poets since. His favorite poets are Emily Dickinson, Fyodor Tyutchev and W. B. Yeats. more…

All John W. May poems | John W. May Books

43 fans

Discuss the poem Happy Coming Halloween! with the community...

13 Comments
  • mfortney2538
    Nice piece
    LikeReply24 days ago
  • debraw.71122
    Nice Halloween write.
    LikeReply25 days ago
  • Htrout24
    Good writing
    LikeReply26 days ago
  • alanswansea18
    Beautiful I forgot about Halloween.
    LikeReply26 days ago
  • jerryl.01657
    GREAT Piece! HAPIEZT HALLOWEEN '24, Fellow Poeteer!!!!!!!
    LikeReply26 days ago
  • gary_dean
    I was not expecting the "bloodlust: to be literal. Not at first. Tis the season, and why not have fun with the pen at times? The superstition of the past becomes the literature of today. The macabre lives on. 
    LikeReply26 days ago
  • alanswansea18
    Beautiful good job.
    LikeReply 127 days ago
    • Vixility
      Thank you thank you! I must have edited and re-edited this poem several times before I felt content with it. All and all, however, it was one of my favorite poems to write.

      Friends have suggested that the ‘sight rhyme’ of ‘pain’ and ‘again’ was a little distracting, but I felt quite comfortable with that particular choice. What do you think? 
      LikeReply22 days ago
  • marguerite_a
    What an engaging and thought-provoking piece of literature! Thank you for providing the backstory; I might not have immediately recognized that the unwarranted blame is directed at a vampire. I appreciate how the title establishes the struggle and sustains it throughout both stanzas. I remember my university professors emphasizing that a poem’s title is the first gateway to its meaning, and yours certainly suggests compassion rather than condemnation towards the vampire.

    I’m excited to introduce your poem to my students this week. I’m curious to see how they will respond to it, especially since we’ve been exploring the theme of guilt in various poems. Your work will undoubtedly prompt deeper reflections on the broader implications of guilt.
     
    LikeReply 227 days ago
    • Vixility
      Thank you thank you for that thoughtful comment! I have been told that poems risk two failures: being too abstract or being too obvious. I know that without context, this particular poem would probably fall into the first failure—so I’m happy I was afforded the opportunity to give it background.

      It’s a strange thing, and I almost feel I have no control over it, but sometimes a title for a poem will pop up, and I’ll write a poem based on it; other times I’ll write a poem out and only then come up with a title. Do you experience this? I wonder how others might.

      Out of respect and sincere curiosity, I had to swing by and read some of your works. Oh, man. So good. “Undress Me”, whose voice is a necessary voice, hurt my heart. So happy you wrote it.

      You said ‘students’ … what do you teach?
       
      LikeReply 127 days ago
    • Vixility
      … just read your profile. Very cool.
      LikeReply27 days ago
  • sharona.reeves81
    Festive folklore fun! Love it happy Halloween
    LikeReply 127 days ago
    • Vixility
      Hahaha—love the alliteration. Thank you for stopping by. When time allows, I’ll swing by and catch up on some of your works. Thank you for the comment.
      LikeReply 127 days ago
  • npirandy
    John, old friend. I've missed your immense talent. Welcome back.
    Thanks for the morbid entry. You're something else!
    LikeReply 227 days ago
    • Vixility
      Thank you thank you, Randy. Believe it or not, this poem was inspired by a scene from the movie “Twilight”. It was a fun piece to work with.
      LikeReply27 days ago
    • npirandy
      Well John, I have to tell you that while you were gone, Susan and Steve have been tearing up the scoreboard. There have been a few very talented newcomers as well. If you decide to jump back into the pool, I'll have to take a long look at my participation because I am grossly outmatched by such talented competition. I might just ride off into the sunset, have a few brewski's, oil my reels and enjoy the fracas! You all can duke it out! 
      LikeReply27 days ago
  • JokerGem
    Might I suggest also, as genres here, humility and tolerance?
    ....l have to say l do the same upon supposition of choosing to not despise another when considering their faultlessness in arriving in undesirable circumstances...thus subjectively becoming of a ‘lower,‘ or unpopular nature or disposition...it’s almost as if, if it isn’t in your nature to not judge, you’d have a tough time comprehending how others don’t naturally do it.
    I found this thought-provoking....good to see ya back around bud 
    LikeReply 127 days ago
    • Vixility
      Love this comment! Existential psychoanalysis at its best.

      I have always wished that Edmund Husserl and his phenomenologist buddies would have applied their techniques of observation to, not only poetry, but to the arts in general. Curious how that might have shaped their philosophy (and our worldview on the creative process).

      Good to see you here …
       
      LikeReply27 days ago
  • Symmetry60
    Back for a milli-moment and already writing 5-star winners. We've been wondering when you'd show back up. We miss your amazing linguistic wizardry. Good to see you, my friend. I hope you're doing well. What a great piece this is. I started one about Halloween yesterday but deleted it. Good thing, too. LoL 
    LikeReply 128 days ago
    • Vixility
      Hey Steve, thank you for the kind words. I really, really want to read that Halloween poem you’ve been working on—any chance that can happen? Nice to see you still here.
      LikeReply27 days ago
    • Symmetry60
      I had three full stanzas written before thinking, "Why am I writing this when I'm not a fan of Halloween, and that it's not coming to me but uphill, through the snow, both ways???" I looked at it, scratched my head, got disgusted, and poof, she was gone. It just wasn't worth the effort for me personally as it wasn't going to serve any purpose but to sit on file in my computer. In other words, if I'm writing, it's typically functionally and not just to have another piece of furniture laying around collecting dust. I've been writing nearly as poem per day for months now, so it's not as though I haven't a surplus to resort to if need comes knocking. A book may even be in the offing at this rate. *nudge nudge wink wink* Good to see you back, friend. 
      LikeReply26 days ago
  • susan.brumel
    And you’re back! So good to see you and your wonderful poetry back here, John.
    Great Halloween poem you’ve penned!
    Happy Halloween indeed!
    LikeReply 228 days ago
    • Vixility
      Still concentrating on physical therapy, but glad to be visiting here again. Looks like I have a lot of catching up to do …
      LikeReply 127 days ago
    • susan.brumel
      Getting yourself well is most important. We will all enjoy seeing you on here as much as you are able to be.
      LikeReply27 days ago

Translation

Find a translation for this poem in other languages:

Select another language:

  • - Select -
  • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
  • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
  • Español (Spanish)
  • Esperanto (Esperanto)
  • 日本語 (Japanese)
  • Português (Portuguese)
  • Deutsch (German)
  • العربية (Arabic)
  • Français (French)
  • Русский (Russian)
  • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
  • 한국어 (Korean)
  • עברית (Hebrew)
  • Gaeilge (Irish)
  • Українська (Ukrainian)
  • اردو (Urdu)
  • Magyar (Hungarian)
  • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
  • Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Italiano (Italian)
  • தமிழ் (Tamil)
  • Türkçe (Turkish)
  • తెలుగు (Telugu)
  • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
  • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
  • Čeština (Czech)
  • Polski (Polish)
  • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Românește (Romanian)
  • Nederlands (Dutch)
  • Ελληνικά (Greek)
  • Latinum (Latin)
  • Svenska (Swedish)
  • Dansk (Danish)
  • Suomi (Finnish)
  • فارسی (Persian)
  • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
  • հայերեն (Armenian)
  • Norsk (Norwegian)
  • English (English)

Citation

Use the citation below to add this poem to your bibliography:

Style:MLAChicagoAPA

"Happy Coming Halloween!" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 10 Nov. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/201052/happy-coming-halloween!>.

Become a member!

Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

November 2024

Poetry Contest

Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
20
days
3
hours
41
minutes

Special Program

Earn Rewards!

Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

Quiz

Are you a poetry master?

»
The poet of the line: "I should be glad of another death." Is...
A T.S. Eliot
B Sylvia Plath
C Walt Whitman
D Emily Dickinson