All Souls Day

by Denny Lancaster
241101

Halloween is not meant for us to scare,
but then again, we were not there,
when a brush with fate on that day,
as the beggar passed Mordrid's way.

The beggar had returned empty handed,
nary a coin nor shilling in his hand landed
but Mordrid's, his clan had just disbanded
and his soul on earth was now stranded.

The beggar was asked for a coin of fare,
but there was no coin in his pockets bare,
and as he heard the stranded man swear
he found a coin as he looked under the stair.

There arose as what with the coin to do,
morsels in the beggars room were a few,
to leave a soul stranded would not subdue,
his plight on all souls night, this he knew.

The beggar placed the coin in Mordrid's hand,
where he could pay for the ferry which would land,
on the Never world's coast line and the sand.
The land written of from the prophets ink stand.

Into the ferryman's hand the coin was thrust,
Mordrid's body on earth turned into dust,
all the Devil could do was then cuss and cuss,
as in the ferryman Mordrid's must now trust.

Halloween's to the beggar would not be the same,
but on a stranded soul, his would not be the blame,
because Mordrid's swore to remember his name.
Never again would empty pockets be the beggars shame

Footnote: All Souls' Day-The commemoration of all the faithful departed is celebrated by the Church on 2 November, or, if this be a Sunday or a solemnity, on 3 November. The Office of the Dead must be recited by the clergy and all the Masses are to be of Requiem, except one of the current feast, where this is of obligation.

The theological basis for the feast is the doctrine that the souls which, on departing from the body, are not perfectly cleansed from venial sins, or have not fully atoned for past transgressions, are debarred from the Beatific Vision, and that the faithful on earth can help them by prayers, alms, deeds and especially by the sacrifice of the Mass.

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