Hallow Heart

I am crunching leaves and
jack o’ lantern eyes,
sugar skull skin
and black cat hiss.
(I will draw you in with yellowed gaze
and claw you out by lantern blaze.)
I am ghostly whisper
and werewolf’s curse,
a full moon rise seduction
and a candy apple burst.
(There’s a lot of sugar to compliment
all my sour.)
A trick or treat with more tricks,
unless you say, “Pretty please.”  

I scrawl my lucky 13
above my lace-clad chest
while my witching hour
soothes this waiting soul
so that my revels can rest.
And my sagey love
will release terrifying tales by candlelight,
a masquerade of the macabre
filling a belly half-drunk in mulled wine
with extra delight.  

I am the hallow,
the rise of the dead.
I am your coffin,
the nightmares you’ll dream
as I make love in your head.

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Jennifer Grisham has been writing since she was a little girl. She has crafted poetry, short stories, and a children’s novel. Her debut poetry book, Whiskey Sour Love, was released in June 2019. She is incredibly excited to release Equinox Ascending for Halloween 2019. She shares her work on Instagram under the handle @alchemical.poetica, focusing pieces around magic-based natural elements, women’s empowerment, mental health, love, loss, and the exploration of identity. Jennifer also writes for the blog Cement Covered Ink Quills in her spare time. She currently lives in New York City.