Hallowe'en.

        A tale we'll tell of what hath been
        When maids and youths kept Hallowe'en,
        It is a tale of old world lore
        What happened in the days of yore,
        When fairies danced upon the green
        So merrily on Hallowe'en,
        And witches did play many a trick
        Assisted by their auld friend Nick,
        And lovers meet around the fire
        Near to the one their hearts desire,
        For to burn nuts for to discover
        The truthfulness of their lover.
        They first did give each nut a name,
        This was Sandy, that was Jane.
        If they did blaze side by side,
        She knew her husband, he his bride,
        But if one up the chimney flew,
        One knew the other was not true.
        And one sure test did never fail,
        Blindfold to find good stock of kale,
        To pull the first comes to the hand
        With heavy roots of earth and sand,
        For the very weight of mould
        Does denote weight of lovers gold.
        In tubs children love to splatter,
        Ducking for apples in the water,
        For such were the delights of yore,
        Which soon will cease for evermore;
        At Balmoral Castle Britain's Queen
        Oft' celebrated Hallowe'en,
        But Highland landlords now do clear
        Land of men to make room for deer,
        But here upon Canadian soil
        A man may own where he doth toil.

James McIntyre

James McIntyre was a Canadian poet, most notable for his poetry concerning cheese, cheese-making, dairying, and dairy products. Often referred to as 'The Cheese Poet,' McIntyre's work is celebrated for its earnestness and unintentional humor, making him both a beloved and an infamous figure in literary circles. He emigrated from Scotland to Canada in 1851 and settled in Ingersoll, Ontario, where he became a successful businessman and community leader.

James McIntyre

Farrington, 1866, Factory System.

James McIntyre, Simple Poetry

Gordon And Burnaby, 1885.

James McIntyre, Simple Poetry

St. Catharines.

James McIntyre, Simple Poetry

North-West Rebellion, 1885.

James McIntyre, Simple Poetry

English

Suggested Poems

Explore a curated selection of verses that share themes, styles, and emotional resonance with the poem you've just read.

Marmion: Introduction To Canto VI.

Heap on more wood! the wind is chill;
But let it whistle as it will,
We'll keep our Christmas merry still.
Each age has deemed the new-born year
The fittest time for festal cheer;
E'en, heathen yet, the savage Dane
At Iol more deep the mead did drain;
High on the beach his galleys drew,
And feasted all his pirate crew;
Then in his low and pine-built hall,
Where shields and axes decked the wall,
They gorged upon the half-dressed steer;
Caroused in seas of sable beer;
While round, in brutal jest, were thrown
The half-gnawed rib and marrow-bone;
Or listened all, in grim delight,
While scalds yelled out the joys of fight.
Then forth, in frenzy, would they hie,
While wildly-loose their red locks fly,
And dancing round the blazing pile,
They make...

Walter Scott

Harvest Home Festival.

        In summer time it doth seem good
        To seek the shade of the green wood,
        For it doth banish all our care
        When we gaze on scene so fair.

        And birds do here in branches sing
        So merrily in early spring,
        And lovingly they here do pair
        Their mutual joys together share.

        Here nature's charming, never rude,
        Inspiring all with happy mood,
        Tables had choice fruits of season,
        And we too had feast of reason.

        To dinner table all did march
        Through evergreen triumphal arch,
        On top the Union Jack it floats,
        On each side sheaves of wheat and oats.

        Great pumpkins and big ears of corn,
        They do this rural arch ado...

James McIntyre

Canadian Sports And Games And Plays.

        Burns sang of joys of Hallowe'en
        But in Canada is often seen
        By far more jolly times than these
        At logging raising, paring bees,
        For here the youth is not afraid
        To trip it with a pretty maid,
        For this at night is his reward
        For working at the bee so hard,
        And oft times till the break of day
        At forfeits they will merry play,
        For he doth win e'en though he miss,
        If from sweet lass he gets a kiss,
        But in its place doth justly prize
        His tea and cakes and pumpkin pies.

        When winter comes it brings no gloom
        But makes fresh pleasures spring and bloom,
        For when the youth longs for a bride
        He gives his girl a grand s...

James McIntyre

Marmion

Heap on more wood! the wind is chill;
But let it whistle as it will,
Well keep our Christmas merry still.
Each age has deemd the new-born year
The fittest time for festal cheer:
Even, heathen yet, the savage Dane
At Iol more deep the mead did drain;
High on the beach his galleys drew,
And feasted all his pirate crew;
Then in his low and pine-built hall
Where shields and axes deckd the wall
They gorged upon the half-dressd steer;
Caroused in seas of sable beer;
While round, in brutal jest, were thrown
The half-gnawd rib, and marrow-bone:
Or listend all, in grim delight,
While Scalds yelld out the joys of fight.
Then forth, in frenzy, would they hie,
While wildly loose their red locks fly,
And dancing round the blazing pile,
They make ...

Walter Scott

The Eve Of All-Saints.

1.

This is the tale they tell,
Of an Hallowe'en;
This is the thing that befell
Me and the village Belle,
Beautiful Aimee Dean.


2.

Did I love her? God and she,
They know and I!
And love was the life of me
Whatever else may be,
Would God that I could die!


3.

That All-Saints' eve was dim;
The frost lay white
Under strange stars and a slim
Moon in the graveyard grim,
An Autumn ghost of light.


4.

They told her: "Go alone,
With never a word,
To the burial plot's unknown
Grave with the grayest stone,
When the clock on twelve is heard;


5.

"Three times around it pass,
With never a sound;
Each time a wisp of grass
And myrtle pluck, an...

Madison Julius Cawein

Halloween.[1]

    "Yes! let the rich deride, the proud disdain,
    The simple pleasures of the lowly train;
    To me more dear, congenial to my heart,
    One native charm, than all the gloss of art."

Goldsmith.


    Upon that night, when fairies light
        On Cassilis Downans^[2] dance,
    Or owre the lays, in splendid blaze,
        On sprightly coursers prance;
    Or for Colean the rout is ta'en,
        Beneath the moon's pale beams;
    There, up the Cove,^[3] to stray an' rove
        Amang the rocks an' streams
        To sport that night.

    Amang the bonnie winding banks
        Where Doon rins, wimplin', clear,
    Where Bruce^[4] ance rul'd the martial ranks,
        An' shook his Carrick spear,

Robert Burns