Black cat, pointed hat – silhouetted flat,
Against a yellow moon; all gone too soon,
Door to door mischief, ah yes, trick or treat,
Cherubic children seeking out something sweet,
Adult time too, dressed as goblin or ghoul,
Freddie Kruger perhaps, or something more cool,
We’re drawn to the lantern with jagged mouth glow,
Turnip burns red, candlelight flickers low…
But what do we find at the heart, at the root
Of this season of ducking in barrels for fruit?
What does it say about your plain human being,
That we so love the dark, with mere candles for seeing?
What was it that led my friend to have chosen
To dress as a werewolf, or Elsa from Frozen?
Does Halloween afford us an opportune place
To face dark inner things that we find hard to face?
A day that feels fitting and timely and right
To rediscover in darkness, the power of light?
But to make Halloween really special, a keeper
Why not take time this year to seek truth that is deeper,
A more ancient story – long ago unfurled,
Of one who is known as the Light of the world.

Voice audio:

Image by Rudy and Peter Skitterians from Pixabay

It’s tricky being the primate – that has power over the climate.
Issue of our time, it occupies a prime place in the TV news
An unfolding crime scene, well it’s a view – one hard not to choose.
Global strikes, a billion likes, on news feed, reflect a need,
To now arise, open our eyes, confront the lies; it’s no surprise
That it’s youth that are leading, when it’s their futures bleeding,
And we really don’t yet know how many mouths will need feeding.
In the Big Apple, UN summit, they tried to halt the plummet…
Not of temperatures, it’s clear they could go through the stratosphere…
No, to stem the fall of political will and hope, that’s all,
To get some concrete plans – that’d win politics some fans,
If we can pull an idea so drastic, out of the realm of the fantastic.
From the point of view of Greta, things ain’t getting noticeably better,
She scowled at the orange clown – then gave them all a dressing down.
A howl of pent up rage, fury belying her age.
But what I really want to ponder, my time here not to squander,
Is our collective sense of care for nature, from ant to anaconda.
I saw a Youtube video you know, with Spooks actress, Nicola Walker,
On climate I can tell you, she’s one compelling talker,
She speaks of how our attitude is fundamentally rotten,
Bit like one of those corpses from her crime show, ‘Unforgotten’.
It imagines her reporting back from the future, twenty fifty,
Which, whatever way you look at it, as a trick is pretty nifty.
She tries to make us understand that now, which’ll then be past,
Bit by bit we shape a future that’ll crumble, or that’ll last,
Yes through our little choices every plain and ordinary day,
We build and make the future now, which is another way to say,
Let’s try to live eyes open, and not be blithe or blind,
To protect this fragile home, the earth, not watch it fast unwind,
Not live in sweet delusion, hiding, shirking, in denial,
But turn on planetary awareness, and turn off Jeremy Kyle.
(if he comes back).

Voice audio: