In days of old, as nighttime grew cold,
approaching Octoberâs ending
Back when a carriage was drawn with a horse
And nary a marriage knew respite, divorceâ
So a bad choice at twenty meant lifelong remorseâ
A woman named Sarah lay dying...
When she was a bride, tall and wide-eyed,
her beauty and innocence blending
A hopefulness mildly spread through the room
Her pretty eyes, childlike, stared at her groom,
Not ever imagining all of the gloom
This man would bring, nor the sighing
In the hell to which she was descending
In marriage, a fondness should grow with the bond
between two enjoined as a couple
And Sarah was loyal to her new lover
But all this was spoiled when Sarah discovered
Her husband was prone to set eyes on some others
And arrange frequent trysts, and dark meetings...
So Sarah stayed home in her prison alone
as her heart grew more calloused, less supple
The first time he cheated a bitterness started,
But as he repeated, all kindness departed
Until she was left without joy, sadly martyred
By her husbandâs stray eyes, and his cheating
And thus she resented her nuptials
Thus decades went on, all tenderness gone,
âtil a horrific end to the hurtingâ
While her husband slept with another manâs wife
That other man crept in the room with a knife
And thus ended Sarahâs long marital strife
Her widowhood bringing a blessingâ
No longer in mind and body confined
to a liar so prone to deserting...
Yet as Sarah pondered the weighty, sad cost:
Her husband had wandered, but she bore the loss
Her once-vibrant body now aged and lost
And Sarah was left second-guessing
Of unfulfilled passion and flirting
She first took delight in that time of the night
when candles were snuffed out and smoldered
When woman and man would slowly undress
When fingers had ran through her hair and caressed
Her shoulder and spine and her full nakedness
And his tongue had deliciously tasted
Her ruby red lips, her navel, her hips,
while fingernails dug in his shoulders
And when he was thrusting, her legs opened wide
She would be lusting for more from inside
But without the trusting, whatever he tried
Brought bitternessâovertures wasted;
The misanthrope slowly grew colder
Her husband now slainâshe didnât complainâ
but widowhood woke thoughts long-perished:
Nights when she savored the raw, musty taste,
Of sweet carnal-flavored kisses in haste,
And long, muffled moaning while pounding hearts racedâ
Yet all this too quickly diminished...
She wondered if now, though older, somehow...
no, that would be far too garish
Though no longer tethered by his cheating ways
Her face had turned leathery, gone was the praise
Of her angelic, natural beauty, and days
Of reckless lovemaking had finishedâ
And gone was that quaking she cherished
With death at her door, she remembered once more
those feelings of lust, almost lingering...
A couple of years of marital blissâ
Then decades of tears when things were amissâ
Then decrepit solitude, until... now this!
A sad circumspectual musing
While dying away on the thirty-first day
of Octoberâwhat was death bringing?
Perhaps on the morrow her bitter-filled rue,
Her sadness, her sorrow, all mercifully through
And peace in the afterlife, long overdue
Away from her husbandâs abusingâ
And the pining for love that kept stinging
Then the Reaper of Doom entered the room;
she looked at him, fully resigning:
Never did fear or reluctance show there,
Nor did a teardrop signify care,
Instead she was dignified, ready, prepared,
Almost eager, she welcomed his visit...
Yet she lifted her hand with a halting command
as he strode toward where she was reclining
One last request, she wanted to askâ
A final behest, a singular taskâ
A chance for a promise, before Death unmasked,
And Death paused, and ask her, âWhat is it?â
And Saraâs long-dimmed face grew shining
âWas it too much? To ask for the touch
of a lover who stayed on the narrow?
Why was I made? To live through the pain
Of a lover who strayed, his fidelity feigned?
And him live so long that Iâd never regain
My youthful and unfulfilled vigor?
I knew no revenge, for another avenged
the waywardness of my old barrow
Yet maybe youâd dare to grant me the chance
To answer a prayer for a faithful romance
Before sheâs too feeble and old for a dance...
Couldnât my ghost pull the trigger?
Now appease me, then come take my marrow.â
So Sarah, in fact, and Death, made a pact,
that on this night she would be measured
Out singular powersâfor justiceâbetween
The six oâclock hour and midnight, to clean
One hundred times, for each Halloween
The upcoming century offered...
This chance to give hope helped Sarah to cope,
even helped Sarah to treasure
These moments that marked her lifeâs ending...
And so she embarked, descending
To the abyss, with deal pending...
Thus Sarah took what Death had proffered,
And died with a smile of pleasure.
Ninety and nine years had gone by
since Sarah had last lay there dying
But all that she gained, that night on her bed
Had multiplied pain, and anguish and dread,
As each year she searched for despair, but instead
She only found couples in bliss
This yearâher last chance!âto offer romance,
and Sarah was panicked and trying
To find some sick cad who was having his fun,
Not caring how badly his wife might be stungâ
But he would stop cheating once Sarah was done!
Aye, one last long illicit kiss
With Sarah immodestly spying...
Then Sarahâs heart leapt as she quietly crept
through a house where a mother was weeping
And dutifully, cleverly wiping her eyes
So children could never suspect or realize
The hurt in her heart on this night of surprise;
And she started her regal costuming...
Before, in an inn, with a buzz from his gin,
her husband was lustily peeping
At a woman he liked, unbuttoning her shirt
She cooed as he hiked up her short denim skirt
They kissed drunken kissesâhe fondled, sheâd flirt,
With no idea danger was looming
As Sarah awoke from her sleeping
The cheated-on left, her heart now bereft,
hoping to find consolationâ
Out with her child collecting some sweets,
She beamed at his smile, heâd shout âTrick or Treat!â
Occasionally nibble on something to eat
And she almost forgot her despair...
But at each new home, she felt more alone,
her heart would fill with desolation:
For each time they knocked at somebodyâs door
Meant further around the block than before
And closer to home, where her husband would snore
Or worse, be awake, when theyâd get there...
And, if so, sheâd crave isolation
Would she be sad? Or maybe be glad?
If she knew that out among neighbors
A spiteful, sly ghost from a hundred years back
Was bent on a most horrific attack
With steely resolve and a heart colored black
Underneath her cute masquerade
Yes, Sarahâdressed like a prostitute might,
seductively offering favors
She stood coquettishly, sporting a grin
He looked at her fetishly, ushered her in
She lifted an eyebrow, as if daring to sin
âTrick or treat,â she whispered, then made
The start of a centuryâs labors.
His heart quickly raced in her sexy embrace,
and she asked him, âWould you be willing?
I have enough candy, but still Iâd like kisses
Iâm feeling quite randy and you look delicious...â
Then flirtingly grabbing his scalp, almost vicious
He couldnât believe his good luck!
Heâd already scored in the hotel before,
and now this young nymph was just thrilling
She started to grind as she opened her mouth
Their tongues intertwined as her hands headed south
Then they went to the bedroom, bypassing the couch
His blown away mind, thunderstruck...
She, all too ready for killing.