Paradise Cemetery

Paradise Cemetery

by

Kristopher Cisneros

Halloween night, I was thirteen years old

Trying to be brave and bold

I entered Paradise Cemetery on a dare

To show ‘em bullies I was no easy scare

Flashlight in hand I plodded among the dead

and suddenly felt a presence that filled me with dread

When I turned around my light flashed on a face so pretty

Not rotted, gross, or gritty

She wore a white dress and, in her hair, a blue bow

“Is it Halloween?”, the girl wanted to know

I nodded, my legs urging me to run

She shouted out, “I can play until the rising sun!”

“Please play with me,” she pleaded

For it was a playmate she needed

I was really scared

Hide-in-seek was her favorite game, so she shared

She turned away and started to count

I looked around for a way out

I ran to the wall and was about to climb

When I heard her sob and say she was almost out of time

I went back to her and flashed my light

She smiled at the beam so bright

I asked her if she wanted to go to the Halloween dance with me

“I would love to,” she cheered and jumped up with glee

We went over the wall of Paradise Cemetery

and headed off into the night to meet up with destiny

I was Davy Crockett, but she had no costume to wear

So, I stole a bed sheet from a clothesline; I didn’t care We cut holes for eyes, and now she was a ghost

To dance was what she wanted most

The girl was so happy and began to spin around

She said, “It feels good to be out of the ground.”

“What do you mean by that?”, I asked her

but she went silent, enough had been as it were

The road was dark, cold, and scary

she whispered that her name was Carrie

I told her my name was Harold

Harold Fitzgerald

We made it to the party

just a bit tardy

The kids were dancing to the song Sh-Boom

all dressed up in neat costumes

I told Carrie that I didn’t know how to dance

and with a smile, she replied, “Just give it a chance.”

She placed my hands on her shoulders and lead

On my chest, she rested her head

We danced all night long

to some really boss songs

“Just one more,” she whispered

It felt like a dream being with this girl

She removed her ghost sheet

and smiled so sweet

My Special Angel played next

and as we waltzed, on my lips she gave me a peck

The song ended and she ran away

I chased after her wanting her to stay

I called out her name not once but twice as I ran all the way to Paradise

I found her at the cemetery gates looking up at the moon

She said that an evil man had ended her life way too soon

It happened Halloween night on the way to a dance

She was found on the side of the road in the grass

We went back over the wall, and she showed me

something I hadn’t really wanted to see

I flashed my light on a tombstone

and there was her name alone

Carrie Ortega 1922-1935

It was twenty-two years ago that she stopped being alive

Carrie started to cry

so, I held her and felt the tears well in my eyes

I stayed with her until my flashlight flickered and went black

The time had come for her to go back

The sun rose over the treetops and peeked through the branches Would there be any more chances?

She promised me that she would return when I needed her

Just flash the light and she would be there

My special angel right from paradise

I know you're an angel heaven is in your eyes

She faded away to nothing

and I was left alone sobbing

That was 65 years ago

and now I’m 78 years old

In a nursing home ready to depart this life

I have no more fight

So, I snuck out into the parking lot on Halloween night

and flashed that light so bright

Carrie returned as promised

we were together again under a moon called Harvest

When I was found

I was cold to the touch and lying on the ground

My life had been a jubilee

so don’t feel sorry for me

I was taken to Paradise Cemetery

to cry; unnecessary

Carrie and I can now dance and play

every Halloween night until the light of day

The End