I sit by the door
With my bowl of candy
But not one child
Rings my bell.
Few venture out anymore
For fear of religious reproach
Or for their very lives
And I find that sad,
For I miss the innocence
Of Halloween
Back before it became a sin
To put on a costume
And become whomever
You wanted to be,
When it was safe to go
From house to house to house
With a plastic pumpkin
Or a pillow case
Begging "Tricks or treats!"
Now there are but traces
Of the childhood
I once knew,
A childhood of fantasy
And fun,
Of Charlie Brown and Snoopy
And Linus' Great Pumpkin.
Sometimes I am glad
That I do not have children,
As this world, these times,
This perilous age,
Are not fit
For them.