All Saints Day 2023

Posted byKathleen Cassen MickelsonPosted inpoetry, seasonalTags:, , , , , ,

I love Halloween: the decorations, the costumes, the pumpkins. Perhaps the pumpkins most of all. The annual carving of the pumpkins is a tradition at our house. Every year, we buy enough pumpkins for anyone in our family who wants to carve one, and then we all get together the last weekend before Halloween to see who can create something goofy, spooky, or both.

This year was pretty low-key, with more traditional designs.

This year’s line-up: daughter Abby’s Jack Skellington, partner Mick’s version, my happy mama pumpkin, granddaughter Camille’s cat, granddaughter Maeve’s (with heavy help from mama) ghost, daughter-in-law Beka’s Frankenstein, son Shawn’s goofy pumpkin.
My son Shawn’s goofy jack-0-lantern
My daughter Abby’s Jack Skellington
Jack-0-lanterns in waiting

I can’t remember a Halloween when we didn’t carve pumpkins together. Now that there are two granddaughters in the family who love Halloween, I’m confident this tradition will continue for a long time. It wouldn’t be Halloween without it.

I also love the day after Halloween, when I feel the quiet of November in my bones. The garden is done, winter is on its way. The fire bowl gets put away, now that it performed its last duty of the season with the Halloween fire we light to greet trick-or-treaters. The carved pumpkins find a resting place in our garden where small critters can nibble on them while they decompose.

The post-Halloween hush of All Saints Day suits me. Moving into the darkness of winter suits me. The settling in, looking inward, being still – this all feeds my poetry and other creative endeavors. I’m looking forward to winter.

Speaking of creative endeavors, I thought I’d share the video I put up on Instagram to celebrate my new book of poetry, Prayer Gardening, co-authored with friend and colleague Constance Brewer. Enjoy.

Prayer Gardening is available for sale at Kelsay Books. It is also available on Amazon.

And, bonus! Here is Constance Brewer reading her poem, Morning Worship, also from our book.

For more information on Constance’s work, visit her website at constancebrewer.com

photos by kcmickelson 2023

Published by Kathleen Cassen Mickelson

Kathleen Cassen Mickelson is a Minnesota-based writer who has published work in journals in the US, UK, and Canada. She is the author of the poetry chapbook How We Learned to Shut Our Own Mouths (Gyroscope Press, 2021) and co-author of the poetry collection Prayer Gardening (Kelsay Books, 2023).

8 thoughts on “All Saints Day 2023”

  1. I love your pumpkin tradition. What a fun way to celebrate the end of harvest and the coming of winter! Your poem is beautiful. I am feeling quite peaceful after reading this One Minnesota Crone post.

    Liked by 1 person

  3. Kathleen, I loved listening to the poems. Your voice, oh, your soothing voice…reading that beautiful poem. Thank you for sharing this. And thank you for sharing photos of the pumpkins carved. What a diversity. But, most of all, what a fun and loving family tradition continuing into the next generation.

    Liked by 1 person

  4. Love all the pumpkins and the different faces. Creative bunch you have! Our pumpkin is dedicated to the squirrels. Big hole in the side and they have at it. Very nice poem reading. You are inspiring me to do some more. Maybe. In audio… 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

Comments are closed.