Reviews from

All Hallows' Eve

This is a halloween poem.

46 total reviews 
Comment from Terry Broxson
Excellent
Not yet exceptional. When the exceptional rating is reached this is highlighted

LOL! This is an excellent poem for Halloween. I never had kids, which is probably a good thing because I think I might read this one to a kid at Halloween, and they wouldn't sleep for days. Well done. Terry.

 Comment Written 29-Oct-2023


reply by the author on 30-Oct-2023
    Hello Terry. Thank you for the excellent review and rating for my Halloween poem. I?m glad you enjoyed the scary imagery and, yes, it likely would have kept children up. But they also watch much worse on TV and in movies too.
    I appreciated the encouraging comments very much.
    Best wishes.
    Robert
Comment from davisr (Rhonda)
Exceptional
This work has reached the exceptional level

Wow, Robert, you've taken a walk on the scary side! I love it! Dean would be proud.
Your poem is very well written from all points of view! Nice Halloween fun, my friend, but don't fall asleep...

Take care,
Rhonda

 Comment Written 29-Oct-2023


reply by the author on 30-Oct-2023
    Hello Rhonda. Thank you for the marvelous review and rating for my Halloween poem. I only go scary on Halloween eve or for one of Dean's books. I?m glad you enjoyed the creepy imagery and rhymes.
    I appreciated the encouraging comments and stars very much.
    Best wishes.
    Robert
reply by davisr (Rhonda) on 30-Oct-2023
    As always, richly deserved!
Comment from Jesse James Doty
Exceptional
This work has reached the exceptional level

Yes, Happy Halloween! You've surpassed your need to creep. Haha. This is magnificent for sure and I know that rhyme scheme from somewhere but where I am not sure. Would you mind telling me what style of poetry that is? I know it is difficult to pull off and yet you have done an exceptional job.
As far as the mood you set for that special night you have outdone the best of them.
Thanks for allowing me to understand this intriguing poetic style.
Jesse


 Comment Written 29-Oct-2023


reply by the author on 31-Oct-2023
    Hello Jesse. Thank you for the marvelous review and rating for my Halloween poem. I?m glad you enjoyed the creepy imagery and mood of this scary night in October.
    The rhyme scheme was created by Omar Khayyam in his Rubaiyat poem nearly a thousand years ago, though he did not link the stanzas by bringing down the third line rhyme to start the next stanza. I've used it many times through the years, Robert Frost (Stopping by Woods) and others have also worked with it.
    I appreciated the encouraging comments and stars very much, my friend.
    Best wishes for a happy, healthy November.
    Robert
reply by Jesse James Doty on 31-Oct-2023
    Hello Robert.
    I love Robert Frost and his style of poetry. I should've known you borrowed from him.
    Happy November to you, too.
    Jesse
Comment from JSD
Excellent
Not yet exceptional. When the exceptional rating is reached this is highlighted

'creak', not 'creek'. The latter is a stream!

Otherwise this is an excellent Halloween poem, with assured rhyme and rhythm to convey your spooky ideas. Well done!

 Comment Written 29-Oct-2023


reply by the author on 29-Oct-2023
    Hello JSD.Thank you for the excellent review and rating for my Halloween poem. I?m glad you enjoyed the imagery and rhymes.
    I appreciated the encouraging comments very much.
    Creak has been changed; Spell check doesn't work on Homonyms. :)
    Best wishes.
    Robert
Comment from Pam (respa)
Exceptional
This work has reached the exceptional level

-Great artwork and nice presentation, Robert.
-You did a great job with your Halloween poem
and the characters of Mr. Grim and Mr. Reap.
-I wouldn't want to meet up with those guys.
-You have some creepy Halloween imagery,
like "ooze and seep" and then they will
always be back when you thought they were gone.
-This is not a good situation.
-A very good concluding verse, but I will
take my chances and go to sleep. Yikes!!!!
-Very well done. Dean is very happy about this one!

 Comment Written 29-Oct-2023


reply by the author on 31-Oct-2023
    Hello Pam. Thank you for the outstanding, detailed review and rating for my Halloween poem. I?m glad you enjoyed the creepy imagery and the art work that accompanies it. Thanks for noting the last verse, sleep or no sleep. I'm pleased you thought Dean would like it.
    I appreciated the encouraging comments and stars very much.
    Best wishes.
    Robert
reply by Pam (respa) on 01-Nov-2023
    You are very welcome and deserving of the stars and review, Robert. I appreciate your reply.
Comment from Mrs. KT
Exceptional
This work has reached the exceptional level

What a rollicking and delightful Halloween poetic offering, Robert!
And a tad bit frightful = as it should be!
I've always held a bit of trepidation regarding Halloween - only because my entire childhood I lived across the street from a 200+ year old cemetery and the specter of Captain Swarthout - our resident ghost - riding on his black stallion, roaming my world scared the beejeesus out of me - especially at Halloween!

Much enjoyed!
Best Wishes!
diane

 Comment Written 29-Oct-2023


reply by the author on 31-Oct-2023
    Hello Diane. Thank you for the marvelous review and rating for my Halloween poem. I?m glad you enjoyed the scary imagery. Living across from a cemetery would be great for Halloween, but not so much for a restful night of sleep for a child. I would have been scared too.
    I appreciated the encouraging comments and stars very much.
    Best wishes.
    Robert
Comment from Pam Lonsdale
Exceptional
This work has reached the exceptional level

This is a fine Halloween poem, planting the seeds of all things that go bump in the night into our consciousness. The scariest thing among scary things is our own thoughts, and you've done a good job of giving us oozing, seeping things beneath the bed and in the closet to dwell on.

A pleasure to read, and a very good overall presentation.

Pam

 Comment Written 29-Oct-2023


reply by the author on 29-Oct-2023
    Hello Pam.Thank you for the marvelous review and rating for my Halloween poem. I?m glad you enjoyed the scary imagery and presentation; I always loved things that go bump in the night. :)
    I appreciated the encouraging comments very much.
    Best wishes.
    Robert
Comment from Eli. Nightingale
Excellent
Not yet exceptional. When the exceptional rating is reached this is highlighted

This is a well done Kyrielle (or a version of it), though it is missing the formality of the refrain in the fourth verse of each stanza. I imagine this would be pleasant for children to read. The rhymes are simple and appropriate for young readers.

What I liked: The change in rhyme scheme from stanza to stanza made this poem stand out more. Each stanza could almost be read entirely on its own as an independent poem, but they blend well with each other.

What I didn't like: I think I would have still preferred a traditional Kyrielle with a repeated refrain (or maybe a version of the same poem), but that would also have taken away something I did like, which was that you can read each stanza independently.

Side note: If this were for a children's audience, "those demons" might be too scary depending on the age group, and "monsters" might be a little less frightening. Another good alliteration might be, "for that is when those creatures creep"

 Comment Written 29-Oct-2023


reply by the author on 29-Oct-2023
    Hello Eli.Thank you for the excellent, detailed review and excellent rating for my Halloween poem. I?m glad you enjoyed the scary imagery and the rhymes.
    I'm not sure why you thought this poem was a Kyrielle. It is not; it is a traditional four stanza rhymed poem. A Kyrielle has a repeated line that moves down the stanzas. The rhyme scheme was created by Omar Khayyam nearly a thousand years ago in the Rubaiyat, though he did not link the stanzas with the third line rhyme connecting the next stanza.
    Yes, the age of the children is important to consider.
    I appreciated the encouraging comments very much.
    Best wishes.
    Robert
reply by Eli. Nightingale on 29-Oct-2023
    Whether intentional or (in this case) not, your poem follows close enough to the form of a Kyrielle that beside the missing refrain, you would think it was one. It has 8 syllables strictly throughout the poem (but it does not have to follow the same rhyme scheme from stanza to stanza). It merely looks like to an outsider that it is a non traditional Kyrielle, much in the way people write 5/7/5 poems that are not traditional haiku.
Comment from Wendy G
Excellent
Not yet exceptional. When the exceptional rating is reached this is highlighted

A fun poem for your Halloween festival. Scary and creepy as well as humorous. Should appeal to kids and adults alike. Well done.
Wendy
Edit: "creek" should be "creak"

 Comment Written 29-Oct-2023


reply by the author on 29-Oct-2023
    Hello Wendy.Thank you for the excellent review and rating for my Halloween poem. I?m glad you enjoyed the scary imagery and rhymes.
    I appreciated the encouraging comments very much.
    Creak has been changed. Thanks.
    Best wishes.
    Robert
Comment from Dolly'sPoems
Exceptional
This work has reached the exceptional level

It is a pity this was not enteres into the contest Robert at would have been a winner. Fine Halloween sentiments, good rhymes and metre and a pleasure to read, I always look forward to reading your work, you have such a great talent for poetry, love Dolly x x x

 Comment Written 29-Oct-2023


reply by the author on 29-Oct-2023
    Hello Dolly.Thank you for the wonderful review and rating for my Halloween poem. I?m glad you enjoyed the ghostly imagery and rhymes, as well as the meter. I don't enter many contests these days, other than an occasional sonnet or traditional poem, but I'm pleased you thought this would have been a winner.
    I appreciated the encouraging and complimentary words very much.
    Best wishes.
    Robert