Mr Macklin's Jack O' Lantern
Mr. Macklin’s Jack O’Lantern
by David McCord
Mr. Macklin takes his knife
And carves the yellow pumpkin face:
Three holes bring eyes and nose to life,
The mouth has thirteen teeth in place.
Then Mr. Macklin just for fun
Transfers the corn-cob pipe from his
Wry mouth to Jack’s, and everyone
Dies laughing! O what fun it is
Till Mr. Macklin draws the shade
And lights the candle in Jack’s skull.
Then all the inside dark is made
As spooky and as horrorful
As Halloween, and creepy crawl
The shadows on the tool-house floor,
With Jack’s face dancing on the wall.
O Mr. Macklin! where's the
door?
I love the ominous feeling of this poem, especially the way the sense of foreboding builds as it goes on. At first it seems like a fun poem about children watching someone carve a pumpkin for Halloween, but then Mr Macklin brings it to life, he carves thirteen teeth, everyone 'dies laughing' and somehow these little hints fetch the dark inside. Throughout, the jolly rhyming schemes tries to trick you into thinking it is all good fun, there's nothing to fear here, even when you cannot find the door.
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