When I was little, Halloween
Was quite the grandest thing I’d seen.

I never wanted something scary,
No ghosts or goblins, nothing hairy.

Just something pretty, something bright,
To wear around the neighborhood that night.

But every costume came complete
With something rather indiscreet.

A plastic mask, a rubber string,
And holes that didn’t match a thing.

The eyes were somewhere near my nose.
The mouth was where? Well, goodness knows.

I’d put it on and try to see,
But nothing looked quite right to me.

My chin was wet. My nose was hot.
I couldn’t tell which house was what.

“TWICK OR TWEET!
GIVE ME SOMETHING GOOD TO EAT!”

Oh, the candy! What a prize!
Enough to make me compromise.

Now years have passed, and I can see
Those costumes rather differently.

Those painted grins, those hollow eyes,
Those crooked mouths, those strange disguises.

I never dressed as something scary.

But looking back?

Those masks were VERY!