beetles scuttle through fallen oak leaves

meadow mouse weaves a nest of grass

flicker of wavering candlelight

a dozen or more flames dance & sputter

in the cool October mist

ivy-laden downspouts outline

an ancient crypt beneath a Hunter’s moon

its barred entrance faintly luminescent,

a teasing come-hither to what awaits inside

indecipherable headstones tilt at odd angles

footpaths littered with arboreal debris

chipmunks scamper among the graves

searching, perhaps, for long-lost kin