At Summer's Wistful End: Last Poems for Halloween

The third volume of K. A. Opperman's POEMS FOR HALLOWEEN SERIES.

As the summer fades, journey through October's door...

At Summer’s Wistful End is K. A. Opperman’s triumphant final entry in the Poems for Halloween Series—a capstone for the motley array of jack-o’-lanterns, specters, skeletons and spooks the author so gleefully conjures for us in these lively seasonal verses. These poems range in tone from celebratory to somber, from cozy to macabre, recalling an atmosphere of mist and dream lanced by the last rays of the summer sun. Opperman helps us discover the candy-filled cauldron at Summer’s End—the fabled reward at the end of a long journey; the gift of remembered youth, and with it—a new beginning.

Featuring more than 20 atmospheric full-page black and white illustrations by Dan Sauer.

Trade Paperback - 6 x 9 inches - 130 pages

“Half alchemist, half hypnotist, K. A. Opperman distills the quintessence of Halloween into rhythmic rhyming incantations; read them aloud to taste the candy corn, scent the cinnamon and cloves, and glimpse the eerie orange flame dancing in the jack-o’-lantern’s gap-toothed grin. Samhain, Hop-tu-Naa, Ealra Hálgena Ǽfen...call it what you will: this book will make you yearn for the childlike euphoria that only happens on All Hallows’ Eve.” —Adam Bolivar, Author of Ballads for the Witching Hour

“K. A. Opperman acts as consummate seer to the witching season... each verse gleams like a mournful ember at the heart of a dying Samhain bonfire... This is poetry by one who has tread the Jack-o’-Lantern Path devoutly, ruminations and revelations from the heart of a dark reverence. Recommended for all souls who feel the draw of autumnal nights, who shiver in expectation as well as fear at the nearness of veil’s parting.” — Scott J. Couturier, author of I Awaken In October: Poems of Folk Horror and Halloween and The Box

“Like one of his beloved jack-o’-lanterns, K. A. Opperman has carved a niche for himself as the doyen of Halloween-themed poetry... he gathers the remaining poems in his bag of treats to offer up a final tribute to his favorite holiday. Opperman’s love for everything from the changing colors of foliage to picking apples and the growing of pumpkins is represented. I have high hopes that this series will help spark a tradition of Halloween poetry to rival the abundance of carols, stories and poems for the Christmastide.” —Manuel Arenas, author of Book of Shadows and The Burning Ember Mission of Helldorado

“...[K. A. Opperman] is the gifted descendent of poets ranging from Poe to Walter Scott to Robert Burns, all of whom understood that Halloween’s deliciously dark mood may be best served by poetry.” —Lisa Morton, author of Trick or Treat: A History of Halloween

CONTENTS:

Introduction: Season of Whispers

I. OCTOBER PROPHECIES
The Pumpkin Path
October’s Fruit
One-Hundred Days to Halloween
Tomorrow Comes September
September Comes Too Quickly
Mabon
Humble Harvest
Chant of Protection
Bard of Grain and Gourd
October is Coming
Pumpkin Spice
Pumpkin Ale
October First

II. AUTUMN GLOAMING
Pumpkin Creek
October Idyll
Devil’s Night
Oiche Shamhna
Ouija Board
The Halloween Horn
The King of October
No Pumpkins
Pumpkin Apotheosis
Lords of Halloween
Grin
The Stain
The Candy Chute
The Halloween Owl
The Black Cat
In the Circle of Seven Jack-o’-Lanterns
Autumn Witch
Loweena the Witch
The Scarecrow Maiden
My October Bride

III. QUIET ALTARS
Dead Leaves
Autumn Thoughts
This Halloween
Extinguished
Unhallowed Grave
Jack-o’-Lantern Curse
The Jack-o’-Lantern’s Mark
One Last Little Jack-o’-Lantern
October Lament
Servant of the Olden Ways
The Throne of Gourd and Bone
Black Laurels
Quiet Altars
Candy Sorting
At Summer’s Wistful End

APPENDICES:
October Checklist
Traversing the Veil: Some Ideas for Exploring the Liminal in October
Poem Notes