Happy October everyone! Colder weather is settling in during the month of ghosts, ghouls, and graveyards. Despite the excitement creeping through town like the crunch of dried leaves during the first frost, I think my life this Fall is best summed up by a poem in Jack Prelutsky’s book, Monday’s Troll. 

I’m only an apprentice witch,
There’s much I’ve left to learn, 
Someday I’ll be a witch-in-full,
But I must wait my turn.
My nasty brews, though noxious,
Lack a certain wretched smell,
Sometimes my spells don’t work at all,
Sometimes they work too well.

I’m only an apprentice witch,
Just seven centuries old,
The elder witches lecture me
To do as I am told.
I strive to grow more hideous,
I’m working on my shriek,
And I’ve not fully mastered 
How to cackle when I speak.

I’m only an apprentice witch
Who’s barely learned to fly,
I’ve been afraid to go too fast, 
Or venture far or high.
Just yesterday I stalled my broom,
And crashed into a ditch,
I’m clearly yet unqualified
To be a full-fledged witch.