Masks Off
written by: Linda M. Crate
samhain strolls in,
breaking barriers when they’re thin;
people put masks on and monsters
finally take theirs off—
candy and frolicking is afoot,
but sometimes
you have to pay the ghost;
otherwise youth can be
lost—
there are werewolves,
skeletons,
vampires, and swamp things;
but banshees and sirens,
too—
better stick close to everything
you’ve known
before they’re taken
from you.
Linda M. Crate is a Pennsylvanian native born in Pittsburgh yet raised in the rural town of Conneautville. Her poetry, short stories, articles, and reviews have been published in a myriad of magazines both online and in print. She has three published chapbooks A Mermaid Crashing Into Dawn (Fowlpox Press - June 2013), Less Than A Man (The Camel Saloon - January 2014), and If Tomorrow Never Comes (Scars Publications, August 2016). Her fantasy novel Blood & Magic was published in March 2015. The second novel of this series Dragons & Magic was published in October 2015. The third of the seven book series Centaurs & Magic was published November 2016. Her novel Corvids & Magic was published March 2017.
Latest posts by Linda M. Crate (see all)
- Masks Off - October 31, 2025
- We Used To Be Friends - October 16, 2025
- You’re Gone - July 17, 2025
