"Hallowe'en" (A Poem)

Published in his 1912 collection of poems, Echoes of Cheer, John Kendrick Bang’s “Hallowe’en” paints a fanciful description of a Victorian Halloween celebration complete with references to apple bobbing and parlor games. It also touches on the Celtic notions of spiritual return, with the fourth stanza envisioning the ghosts of the departed revisiting the earthly realm to partake in the festivities.

Bring forth the raisins and the nuts —

To-night All Hallows’ Spectre struts

Along the moonlit way.

No time is this for tear or sob,

Or other woes our joys to rob,

But time for pippin and for bob,

And Jack-o’-lantern gay.

Come forth, ye lass and trousered kid,

From prisoned Mischief raise the lid,

And lift it good and high.

Leave grave old Wisdom in the lurch,

Set Folly on a lofty perch,

Nor fear the awesome rod of birch

When dawn illumes the sky.

‘Tis night for revel, set apart

To reillume the darkened heart,

And rout the hosts of dole.

‘Tis night when Goblin, Elf, and Fay,

Come dancing in their best array,

To prank and royster on their way,

And ease the troubled soul.

The ghosts of all things past parade,

Emerging from the mist and shade

That hid them from our gaze;

And full of song, and ringing mirth,

In one glad moment of rebirth,

Again they walk the ways of earth,

As in the ancient days.

The beacon light shines on the hill,

The will-o’-wisps the forests fill

With flashes filched from noon;

And witches on their broomsticks spry

Speed here and yonder in the sky,

And life their strident voices high

Unto the Hunter’s Moon.

The air resounds with tuneful notes

From myriads of straining throats,

All hailing Folly Queen;

So join the swelling choral throng,

Forget your sorrow, and your wrong,

In one glad hour of joyous song

To honor Hallowe’en![1]

Works Referenced

Bangs, John Kendrick. “Hallowe’en.” Echoes of Cheer. Boston: Sherman French and Company, 1912. 56-57.

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[1] Bangs, 56-57.