Jack-o-Lantern [Haiku]

the wobble & flicker
of candle flame animates a
face carved to stillness.

Jack-O-Lantern [Free Verse]

Orange orbs
   cut with fearful faces:
 Burning brightly
   - daily & nightly -
 As menacing medicine
   for the cringe-impaired,
 The ones who 
   never get scared --
 unless a banal ball,
   blazing & brainless,
(and in a manner
   all but painless)
 replaced the head
  of their town's barber. 

DAILY PHOTO: Jack-O-Lanterns by Day & by Night

Jack-o-Lantern [Free Verse]

Taken in Szentendre on October 30, 2022
How does one master menace,
carving optimal malignancy
into a festive orange orb?

Sometimes the faces intended
to convey happy holiday blessings
are the most creepy and disconcerting…

you know, like with real peoples’ faces.

Sometimes the faces intended
to torture souls and rend psyches
are over-the-top and campy or silly…

you know, like with real peoples’ faces.

How does one master menace
on a festive orange orb?
Taken in Budapest in October of 2022