Fifth collection of contest submissions

October 29, 2015October 29, 2015 ~ aurorajeanalexander ~ 15 Comments

We proudly present the fifth collection of contest submissions for the

1st Halloween-poem contest.

Picture courtesy of: http://preventioncdnndg.org/eco-quartier/eco-tips-for-halloween/

“Chest of Gold”

(by “Jimmie Verte”)

It began when I opened myself

My heart was said of gold in my regular chest

Then I found jewels out of people

Attracting, shining sparkles to wedge in this nest

I saw a zipper under my Adam’s apple

That passed across and destroyed my bust

I removed the whole just behind my pectorals

To collect glitters that cut my breath

During my transplantation I didn’t expect

My body to reject these twinkles

but I finished knees on soil and palms

Containing my stopped heart among valuables

Now that I have lost everything there’s no end

I’m a simple pringle frightening

A zombie wandering on a land

Each year, reaching out to people on Halloween

Decorations shall inherit the earth

(By Caroline Cao)

smirking Jack O’ Lanterns

smoke cigars of pinkies

puffing out scarlet smoke

as their plastic smirks would melt into grimaces

The tissue ghost and plastic skeletons

from the trees jiggy-jigged

from slick licorice nooses

nibble on their “Made In Taiwan”

dogchains from their necks

alarming breathless bystanders

who don’t even know there’re

pick-pocketed of their souls

when they delude themselves

safe in sleep

The mall-mannequins witches and werewolves

munched on candy corns at the exhibition

howling like football fans

trick, trick, trick

They’ll consume unopened candy

spit out its contents

and let the bricks of Hersheys

beads of M&Ms and Reeses

melt in the peeping sun

and produce the glucose river

with its shrill sugar-run

and mummify all the

the victims in pasty glucose

The perfect holiday marinating

Grave Choice

(By Cynthia Morgan)

Weariness overcame me.

Darkness spiraled from the pit of my stomach,

Engulfing me,

Pulling me under,

Surrounding me.

I struggled against it, trying to Breath in the suffocating murk,

Like a Hypnotic Spell, I could not resist the tugging blackness encroaching on my thoughts.

Sleep leapt upon me with claws bared,

Sinking them into my flesh,

Penetrating deeply,

Inescapable.

Quiet.

Blackness.

Sinking.

Strange sensations scathed over me.

Heaviness. Lightness.

Breaking through. Crashing in.

Calm Tranquility mixed with Ethereal Panic

Leaving me Searching the dimness Frantically,

but for what I did not know.

Light?

Breath?

Heartbeat?

All was Silent. All was Dim.

Fear crashed in on me;

A thousand boulders tumbling from out of the dingy night

Sticking to me,

Pounding over me, yet I did not Fall.

There was no pain,

Only Fear devouring me in the darkness.

Echoes of thought Whispered from the Ebon vastness;

Voices once so Bright and Filled with Life,

Now Empty,

Hollow,

Soundless.

What happened to the Life that was inside me?

Where did my Vibrancy go?

I could not Breathe

And the sensation of Existing without it was terrifying.

Brackish water sloshed around my feet,

Pouring in from the edges of the darkness,

Splashing upwards in a Progression;

Slow,

Inescapable;

My feet felt nailed to the place where I stood.

Unable to run, I Searched the emptiness around me,

Horrified to watch the slogging water sucking upward around me,

Encasing me,

Icy,

Coldness.

Where was the Light?

Where was the Tunnel?

What happened to all the preaching and teaching and reaching from Heaven?

Shadows began to move in the deep darkness,

Slinking towards me in a haze that filled me with Dread.

Sounds like ravenous animals gnawing bones began surround me.

Screeches and cackles more horrendous than any tale from the crypt I had ever heard.

Insidious laughter,

Mocking my struggle;

Unrelenting,

Icy embalmment,

Closing around me.

All went Silent.

Only a Solitary Voice Spoke,

Echoing from the darkness.

I Listened,

Aghast

The Tone and Inflection Familiar.

It was my own voice.

It was Me,

Speaking out of the past,

Haunting my own soul;

And as I Listened, bitter tears slipped down my pallid cheeks,

Falling into the freezing water

Encircling my knees,

My chest,

My chin,

Sloshing upward,

Consuming me.

“I have everything I could ever Want.

There is nothing I Need.

I have Money;

I have Influence ;

I have Reputation,

And more friends than I can count. ……………

Why do I Need God?”

Authors, Poets and Bloggers

Please join in the fun and continue submitting further entries. Have your Halloween poem posted, along with your photo, and if you like, link to your own blog or website.

Please provide us with a proper return email address! We need to be able to contact you!

We will be delighted to receive your submission, just email your entry to me and I’ll post them periodically:

aurorajean.alexander@aol.com

ONLY 50 MORE HOURS UNTIL DEADLINE!

********************************************

Fourth collection of contest submissions

October 27, 2015October 29, 2015 ~ aurorajeanalexander ~ 4 Comments

We proudly present the fourth collection of contest submissions for the

1st Halloween-poem contest.

THE EXPERIMENT OF THE EYE

(by Camberon Rombért)

The mind is in need of stretching can be a dangerous lesson

To teach; it does a lot of assuming on the part of the part of the pupil,

in terms of flexibility. It’s the Experiment of the Eye.

Later, some years when the lesson’s still fresh, you’ll see the demise of your last sanctuary, you’ll hear the gunshots always. Why, why did I see the dreadful Eye?

Why was it looking at me?

Given everything in an objective view I can’t see how it would ever turn out differently.

What terrified, what could never be explained,

Has given me perspective, has made corporeal the things I didn’t see.

Happy Halloween

(by CJ Corbi)

It’s just a house

With decorations.

Knock-Knock

Trick or Treat.

Slowly,Slowly,

Creak-ing, Creak-ing.

The door opens to us

Floating hand unfolds-

There! A bowl of candy-yes!

Jack-pot!!

Pretty cool trick

And now for the treat-

Come on in my sweets

Come in and visit a spell.

What’s this? I say,

I say I cannot-not yet.

I come back another nite

To get my treat for That nite.

I step in and see all around

The glimmer & shine,

The fog & dew

No dust, No spiderwebs, No wolf man Jack

Or Vampire Bat

I step forward and enter

Another World-

For there-right in front of me is

My Mom, My Dad, My Pet.

The cauldron

(by Tom Gould)

Enter the house

Oh what a sight

Pumpkin lanterns instead of lights

Haunted or deserted

A ghost round the corner proves that it is the former

The chairs all high backed

A witch sits there with her broom

The time will come soon

Her hat all pointed

She is anointed

The cauldron in the middle

And another witch playing the fiddle

As smoke rises from it

As another witch stirs it

The viper below

A snake of a woman

A spell upon her or a devils’ mark

A skeleton stands before her

Reminding her of impending doom

It may come too soon

Against her jacket she struggles

Frightened and muddled

Enter a ghost

She is her host

The banshee begins to wail

For she must tell her tale

A pumpkin lantern smiles

His eyes yellow and wild

The cauldron waits

All Hallows Night

(by Judy, from Edwina’s Episodes)

As darkness descends upon us

And the moon casts an eerie glow

On the last day of October

It is All Hallows Eve, you know

🎃🎃🎃🎃

Where souls of those once departed

Come back once more to roam

Visiting their old haunts

Finding their way back home

🎃🎃🎃🎃

Some of them are banshees

Screaming in the night

Or ugly, warty witches

That look an awful fright

🎃🎃🎃🎃

Vampires who are looking

For someone’s blood to suck

Zombies from the graveyard

Decayed, and covered in muck.

🎃🎃🎃🎃

There are ghosts and there are werewolves

All of which you’ll meet

When you answer your front door bell

And the kids yell ‘Trick or Treat!’

Authors, Poets and Bloggers

Please join in the fun and continue submitting further entries. Have your Halloween poem posted, along with your photo, and if you like, link to your own blog or website.

We will be delighted to receive your submission, just email your entry to me and I’ll post them periodically:

aurorajean.alexander@aol.com

ONLY 4 1/2 MORE DAYS UNTIL DEADLINE!

Third collection of contest submissions

October 26, 2015 ~ aurorajeanalexander ~ 14 Comments

We proudly present the third collection of contest submissions for the

1st Halloween-poem contest.

The Talking Dead

(by Bruce Louis Dodson)

I remember the time I first saw his head…
He was six months gone, and three months dead
His hair was parted where the ax hit bone
I still think of it often when I’m home alone
An unforgettable image of fear and dread
His skull held together with a golden thread
He was sitting in a chair beside my bed.

His eyes were as big as an oyster’s shell
And the look that they gave me was straight from hell
He said, “You buried my body by the fall down tree,
but this isn’t the last you’re gonna see of me
I will come to your room when your fast asleep,
and bury your body in a grave that’s deep.”
I said, “You can’t do that, you’re because you’re totally dead.
I hit you with a hatchet on the back of your head.”
He said, “How dead I am, remains to be seen.
I’m coming back to get you on Halloween.

Bruce_Louis_Dodson

Halloween Poem

(by Jennifer Hinsman)

Cherub cheeks and ghosts abound

A running child makes a shrieking sound.

Ghastly make-up and wigs that glow

Porch lights on with treats to bestow.

Smiles on faces with candy in bags

Kids giggle at each other’s gags.

Pumpkins carved to scare

Freaky, frightening, take a dare.

‘Trick or treat’ is what everyone yells

Witches brew and cast their spells.

Will it be sunny? Or will it snow?

Eerie sounds spook, it’s just the wind, I know.

Cobwebs and spiders decorate the door

Goblins, vampires, masks and more.

Big, gloomy houses suddenly seem haunted

Sinister souls lurk around, but candy is all I wanted.

Bone chilling? Hair raising? Yes, but it’s all for fun

Secretly I know staying calm is easier said, than done.

Don’t worry about all the bumps in the night

Halloween is this crazy holiday of fright.

Night of Fright

(by Lizabeth Scott)

Leaves crunch underfoot

Wind howls frighteningly through the night

Passing eerie gravestones, spidery webs, boiling cauldrons, skeletons rattling

Heart racing, pounding, screaming

Loud pounding fists to wood

Waiting…waiting, anxiety bursting from within

Quiet…silent…soundless…shhhh

Heart racing, pounding, screaming

Shuffling, dragging, scratching sounds

Coming, coming, steps grow slower, louder, as they near

Heart racing, pounding, hammering

Slowly creaks the massive portal groaning, screeching, grating

Wider, wider, wider

Heart racing, pounding, hammering

Slivers of light shining, blinding

Shadows of darkness silhouette into focus

Heart racing, pounding, hammering

Quiet…Wait…Waiting…NOW!

TRICK OR TREAT!

Sweet, sour, thank you, more

Yum

Authors, Poets and Bloggers

Please join in the fun and continue submitting further entries. Have your Halloween poem posted, along with your photo, and if you like, link to your own blog or website.

We will be delighted to receive your submission, just email your entry to me and I’ll post them periodically:

aurorajean.alexander@aol.com

ONLY 6 MORE DAYS UNTIL DEADLINE!

Second collection of contest submissions

October 23, 2015 ~ aurorajeanalexander ~ 23 Comments

We proudly present the second collection of contest submissions for the

1st Halloween-poem contest.

End Time Constrictor

(by Wilson F. Engel, III)

Riding her broomstick o’er damned gabled slough

Flash lightning, roar thunder shrieks white-eyed pain

Where bats dwell and crows line bare lime bough

Cawing or cleaning beaks in bloody rain.

She seeks one handy with his scythe to spare

None. Soul mower, Hell’s harvester of sins,

Sod slicer riffing frantic flight: despair

Red gules lit by jack-o-lantern grins.

She waves her gnarled hand as moonrise mocks

Blind children’s laughter punctuating raves

Birth pangs drawn from death’s cool reckoning knocks.

Between marks lies silence of yawning graves.

With soughing sound and broad blade whistling slow

She smiles grim greeting. He swings. It’s time to go.

(by “FloridaBorne”)

Deep in the Northern Florida woods

away from prying eyes

The spindly pine and sickly oak

hide from the crying skies.

“C’mon inside,” the ghostly moan

and gnarled finger smile

to anyone who passes by

“Y’all come stay awhile.”

A house of horror waits for those

who dare to trick or treat

A canine howl, a fearsome growl

begets a quick retreat.

You dare not move…you can’t escape…

a roiling approaches.

It cannot be! Dear God, a herd

of fifty thousand roaches!

The zombie dogs are out the door

they stir up all the sand

and lick to death forevermore

the bravest in the land.

It was Halloween Eve

(by Melody Fisher)

The moon was a sliver
The sight I beheld
Made my flesh quiver
I’m not easily shaken
But this caught my eye
I recognized that man
I knew he had died
Now standing before me
No worse for wear
In a sparkly white jumpsuit
And shiny black hair
I was stunned by his presence
I whispered “The King?”
He winked as he nodded
Then started to sing!
As he crooned “Love Me Tender”
I started to scream
No sound escaped
Just like in a dream
Then he sauntered close to me
And opened his mouth
“Wheres the costume party?
Is that the right house?”
I sighed in relief
and started to giggle
In time to watch
those famous hips wiggle
Then, without warning
His spirit took flight!
He faded away
Like mist in the night.
I know what I saw.
I have not one doubt.
The ghost of dear Elvis
Was out and about.

Authors, Poets and Bloggers

Please join in the fun and continue submitting further entries. Have your Halloween poem posted, along with your photo, and if you like, link to your own blog or website.

We will be delighted to receive your submission, just email your entry to me and I’ll post them periodically:

aurorajean.alexander@aol.com

First collection of contest submissions

October 21, 2015October 21, 2015 ~ aurorajeanalexander ~ 14 Comments

We proudly present the first collection of contest submissions for the

1st Halloween-poem contest.

Kiss Of The Dark

(by Jane Lockwood)

Late at night each Halloween
I wander the graves, aroused, unseen
Hoping for a skeletal hand

To drag me ‘neath the living land.

Cowering before the court of bones
Hidden under crooked tomb-stones
I sink to my knees to await
My longed-for and desired fate.

A shadow whispers through the dark

My bared neck waits for my lover’s mark.

The warmth of lips against my skin.

The shudder of lust swells deep within.

My addictive Queen is dark and tall.
One look and I could not help but fall
for the vampire’s seductive charms
and the bliss of lying in his arms.

With rising moon our passion grows

The sweet sting as my lifeblood flows

And soft cries of depraved delight

Melt into deep and velvet night.

Abandoned acceptance is ours alone

With each agonized, delicious moan

The vampire growls and slakes his greed

As smoky blood fulfils his need

Submitting to death, for a kiss
I leave the world, knowing this

To roam and wait for Death’s Dark Queen

And his cruel love each Halloween

Nightmare

(by Wenona Napolitano)

Darkness gripped me like a ferocious lion,

ripping and shredding apart helpless prey

Reaching out I begged you to stay

But you left and my soul started crying

My fears slowly started to take over

Nightmares set in, taking over sweet dreams

My heart stops when I wake and drown in screams

Lonely without a comforting lover

Once I drank in the dreams and dreamed the wine

that flowed over satiny cherubs wings

I could hear my guardian angels sing

Sweet voices soared to eternity’s time

Now I can no longer feel my own soul

I just hear the wind blowing in my mind

My sweet seraphim are no longer kind

Angry devils tear at me leaving a hole

With trembling hands I drink the poisoned wine

That will forever stop bad dreams in time

*************

Memory of a Victim

(by Wenona Napolitano)

She was once a doll of sweet porcelain,

A blooming soul to penetrate

A memory that would drive him insane

Now she was nothing more than an evil stain,

on a collar that threatened to suffocate.

She was once a doll of sweet porcelain,

that he had fantasized to obtain.

Her innocence he chose to adulterate,

A memory that would drive him insane

Remembering the vision of a pulsating vein,

a marble white neck so delicate

She was once a doll of sweet porcelain,

but she joined the list of those he had slain

It was a memory that could stimulate,

A memory that would drive him insane

Every last drop of her blood he did drain

Her soul was gone, no longer to illuminate

She was once a doll of sweet porcelain,

A memory that would drive him insane

Trick or Treat Sonnet

(by Geoff Le Pard)

The box on the step draws them like flies

Little hands, skeletally white, reaching down.

‘It’s rubbishy chocolate,’ says John with a frown.

‘Never mind,’ says his mum, wiping mist dampened eyes

On her sleeve. ‘Mrs Goldstein will have a real treat.

You see. Either candies or fudge, all neatly wrapped.

Though take care or you’re sure to be trapped

In her sticky old web. She’s best in the street

For her tricks.’ The family holds hands as they hurry

Along, filling their pockets with teeth rotting gifts.

The mood won’t stay happy; there’s always a shift

As the cockroaches cackle and dirty rats scurry.

For what do you expect: this is Halloween.

It starts with a smile, and ends with a scream.

Halloween Night

(by Roxanne Rhoads)

A night when witches ride their brooms

And shadows dance across the moon

The dead will speak and devils scream

Halloween, when the spirits can be seen

‘Tis a time that many fear

It comes but once a year

Enjoy this enchanted night

Just don’t let the vampires bite

Ghosts and ghouls will walk the land

Zombies will reach out their hands

They all want to live once more

So they come knocking on your door

Pumpkins glow with eerie light

Be careful or you’ll get a fright

Avoid the tricks and give a treat

Appease them with something sweet

Don’t let the witches cast a spell

Or the party could become hell

Too much witches brew

Could very well, be the end of you

Black cats howl and owls hoot

Fill your bags with lots of loot

Laugh and dance without a care

Soon you’ll wake from this nightmare

Authors, Poets and Bloggers

Please join in the fun and continue submitting further entries. Have your Halloween poem posted, along with your photo, and if you like, link to your own blog or website.

We will be delighted to receive your submission, just email your entry to me and I’ll post them periodically:

aurorajean.alexander@aol.com

1st Halloween-Poem Contest

October 20, 2015October 21, 2015 ~ aurorajeanalexander ~ 57 Comments

It is a great pleasure for me to announce the

1st Halloween-Poem Contest

on ‘Writer’s Treasure Chest’.

Every author and poet are invited to participate and deliver a “Halloween-Poem” to my email address: aurorajean.alexander@aol.com, together with their picture.

There are a few rules to follow:

Your poem needs a Halloween theme.
Your poem needs a minimum of 99 words.
Your poem has to be delivered to my email address until Halloween, October 31, 2015, 9 pm Eastern Time.
Please avoid violence, bad language, and sexual content within the poems. It would be disqualified.

Every poem that meets the rules and is delivered within the deadline will be published here on “Writer’s Treasure Chest” together with the provided picture.

I am honored to announce that the following authors have agreed to participate as judges in the jury who will decide on the winners of the contest:

Author Jim Spencer
Author Pat Shannon/Yeager
Author Juliette Kings
Author F. E. Feeley Jr.
Author A. J. Alexander

Thank you, authors, for your effort to be part of this contest!

There will be three winners in the 1st Halloween poem contest. Each of them is free to choose from the following prizes:

E-Book of “Morning at the Vineyard” written by Juliette Kings
E-book of “Confessions of a Corporate Slut” by Jacqueline Gum
1 signed copy of “Red White and Black Lies” by Jim P. Spencer
E-book of either “The Hunting of Timber Manor” OR “Objects in the Rearview Mirror” OR “Still Waters” by F. E. Feeley Jr.

I’m very grateful for these excellent authors to offer one of their books as a prize in this contest. Thank you!

The contest starts now!! Please, deliver your poem and your picture to my email address:

aurorajean.alexander@aol.com.

We’re looking forward to your poems!

A. J. Alexander

Thoughts on Fall

October 18, 2015 ~ aurorajeanalexander ~ 25 Comments

A time to start and a time to end

A time to break and a time to mend.

There’s so much that’s old and less is new

there’s still some warmth but cold it’s too.

Fall is time for plans and range

it’s time to prepare and time to change.

Switch the summer for the winter

that’s the season of the ‘tinter’.

Watch how nature does its share

new colors, new smiles and new clothes to wear!

Instead of pink and blue and green

we’ve got yellow, burgundy and ‘coffee-bean’.

Orange, brown and terracotta red,

leaves are falling, trees will shed.

Pumpkin season is ready to come,

We drink eggnog, warm chocolate and tea with rum.

Flames are dancing in the fireplace,

cold wind is leaving red spots in our face.

Fog is covering the brownish ground

Sharp wind around the house is normal sound.

And still it’s a wonderful homey season

in our house for more than one reason.

The world is enchanted by a special glow,

Just before the world will be covered in powdery snow.

There’s so much more to be said to third time of year

There’s so much to look forward to and nothing to fear.

Not even when ghosts, witches and vampires will mime,

Enjoy Halloween before Christmas time.

Picture courtesy of: http://www.fengshuidana.com/2012/09/01/10-fabulous-feng-shui-tips-for-fall/

29 Childrens’ Misunderstandings of Biblical Proportions

October 13, 2015October 13, 2015 ~ aurorajeanalexander ~ 4 Comments

“Nutsrok” posted this absolutely hilarious collection of children’s musunderstandings of biblical proportions. I had to wipe off my tears from my face. Have fun!

In the first book of the bible, Guinessis, God got tired of creating the world, so he took the Sabbath off.

Adam & Eve were created from an apple tree.

Noah’s wife was called Joan of Ark.

Noah built the ark, which the animals came on in pears.

Lot’s wife was a pillar of salt by day, but a ball of fire by night.

The Jews were a proud people and throughout history they had trouble with unsympathetic Genitals.

Sampson was a strongman who let himself be led astray by a jezebel like Delilah.

Sampson slated the Philistines with the axe of apostles.

Moses led the Hebrews to the Red Sea, where they made unleavened bread, which is bread made without any ingredients.

The Egyptians were all drowned in the dessert.

Afterward, Moses went up on Mount Cyanide to get the Ten Amendments.

The first commandment was when Eve told…

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The 79-Word-Challenge

October 11, 2015 ~ aurorajeanalexander ~ 13 Comments

Yesterday I read on The Story Reading Ape’s blog about the 79-word challenge. The idea was actually brought up by Andrew Joyce who says he didn’t come up with it himself. If you’d like to read the entire post, please go to The Story Reading Ape’s blog and read the entire post.

I was thinking about this challenge for a while during further exploring Chris Graham’s blog. He had posted continued 79-word-stories by so many different, excellent authors.

They can be found here:

October 8, 2015: The first 7 79-word stories

October 9, 2015: 10 more 79-word-stories

October 10, 2015: 12 more 79-word-stories

By the time I had read them all, I definitely felt challenged. About 2 hours later I had entered my share to The Story Reading Ape’s Email address and the wait started.

Today I got word that my entry was accepted and published together with 5 other stories tonight at 6 pm London time.

I’m so excited!! – Oh yes, of course: my entry can be found here:

http://thestoryreadingapeblog.com/2015/10/11/38946/

Thank you, Andrew Joyce and Chris Graham for this wonderful challenge and all your efforts!!

Picture courtesy of: https://keepingupwiththedarkos.wordpress.com/2015/09/06/3-month-challenge-to-build-a-1000-starter-emergency-fund/

Making Story MAGIC—How To Bring the Elements All Together

October 10, 2015October 10, 2015 ~ aurorajeanalexander ~ Leave a comment

Becca Puglisi , speaker, writing coach and bestselling author published a post on Kristen Lamb’s blog about how making a story magic by bringing all elements together. In my opinion it’s an excellent educational blog post worth sharing with as many people possible.

Kristen Lamb's Blog

Original image via Flickr Creative Commons courtesy of Sodanie Chea

I love to think of myself as having a special eye for talent, and when I find gems like Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi, it just makes a gal go “SQUEEEE!” I’ve been following these ladies for a loooong time since they were relatively new in their careers.

These days?

Back up because they are a powerhouse and they offer up some of the most excellent writing instruction in the business. They are the authors of the legendary Emotion Thesaurus which eventually gave rise to stacks of other writing tools (I recommend and use them ALL) and now they are launching something truly special.

And, since they are rockstars, they have given me, the W.A.N.A. Mama a very cool deal to share with you guys at the end of this post. This is HUGE! This is the new state-of…

View original post 1,366 more words