Halloween and Neo Paganism at the Library By Mark James Andrews

I am researching plywood 

at my library drone desk 

for mild diversion

my obsession 

with problematic lamination 

of abstract cores.  

I am distracted by the parade 

of toddlers as princesses 

and pirates in the arms 

of women and the occasional man.

  

All passing my Adult Reference desk 

for the noontime preschool lap-sit 

holiday story time 

in the Children’s Department.

One babe in arms is mummy wrapped 

in white gauze a revelation for me

as yesterday my subject search 

focus was duct tape

pressure sensitive in my mind 

to lift the warts off 

the derma of a gone world.  

The next kid wobbles by in red pajamas 

with the inscription I’m a Little Devil. 

There appears to be no adult supervision 

but then a woman rushes over 

looking vaguely like Taylor Swift

red lips with a mixed blonde wig 

with bangs shoulder length.

 

Suddenly a tatted-up woman 

snakes up to me with a rivulet of blood 

coursing down from a forehead projectile. 

On closer inspection 

she has an open safety pin pushed 

in her mid-forehead centered 

on a line above her nose and red striping 

down to her nose tip, lips, chin

 

then down to a spreading bulls-eye 

on her white t-shirt bust line slightly left

for me to view the near perfect 

nipple centered bullseye

a process I speculate 

that was tested and practiced 

in the restroom mirror to max 

the freak out factor.

  

DO YOU HAVE BOOKS ON WITCHCRAFT?

YES. I DO. FOLLOW ME.

Pin woman with blood bullseye 

on left breast bird-dogs me 

on my heels too close 

as I hop on down 

the Dewey Decimal trail 

to top shelf 299.94 

and she begins howling.

EEEEOOOOWWWW!

Then pin woman hops up 

on a step stool on casters

surfing up to the top shelf

teetering, fingering out spine tops

extracting her prize wide eyed.

WHAT’S NEO PAGANISM?  

OH MY GOD! YES! YES! 

THIS IS WHAT I NEED!

Mark James Andrews lives and writes in Metro Detroit. He is the author of five chapbooks. The latest is At The Ice Cow Queen On Mack from Alien Buddha Press. His poetry has appeared in Chiron Review, Nerve Cowboy, Hiram Poetry Review, Slipstream, Respect: The Poetry of Detroit Music, Rye Whiskey Review and many other spots.