Beware January,
His greeting is a grey chill.
Dark stranger. First in at the kill.
Get out while you can.
Beware February,
Jolly snowman. But beneath the snow
A grinning skeleton, a scarecrow.
Don’t be drawn into that web.
Beware March,
Mad Piper in a many-coloured coat
Who will play a jig then rip your throat.
If you leave home, don’t go far.
Beware April,
Who sucks eggs and tramples nests.
From the wind that molests
There is no escape.
Beware May,
Darling scalpel, gall and wormwood.
Scented blossom hides the smell
Of blood. Keep away.
Beware June,
Black lipstick, bruise-coloured rouge,
Sirensong and subterfuge.
The wide-eyed crazed hypnotic moon.
Beware July,
Its juices overflow. Lover of excess
Overripe in flyblown dress.
Insatiable and cruel.
Beware August,
The finger that will scorch and blind
Also beckons. The only place you will find
To cool off is the morgue.
Beware September,
Who speaks softly with honeyed breath.
You promise fruitfulness. But death
Is the only gift that she’ll accept.
Beware October,
Whose scythe is keenest. The old crone
Makes the earth tremble and moan.
She’s mean and won’t be mocked.
Beware November,
Whose teeth are sharpened on cemetery stones,
Who will trip you up and crunch your bones.
Iron fist in iron glove.
Beware December,
False beard that hides a sneer.
Child-hater. In what year
Will we know peace?