MASQUERADE PARADE

MASQUERADE PARADE

Roger A. Davis

It is the night of trick or treat, boooo!
Have you ever teepeed a house or two?
We used to carry bars of Ivory
And would make windows unsightly

I heard stories of my grandpa's Halloween times
Putting a cow in the upstairs study hall
Knocking over an occupied outhouse stall
All innocent letter jacket crimes

Oh, how I loved to fill my sack with treats
Knowing soon I'd O.D. on sugary eats
Staying up late on a sweets high
And letting go with the once-a-year candy sigh

As we grew older our tricks became bolder
We would ignite sacks of cow dung
And wait for the heroes of the unsung
Their reward was all night sucker odor

We did just enough to be a criminal pest
But not enough for them to seek an arrest
In fact, looking back we were pretty tame
Our goblin crime wave was kind of lame

Now some lines about costumes worn
Cowboy hat and cap guns, I would adorn
But one year Dad made this foil covered ball
And my brother went as Sputnik that fall

Next year I wore it in the school's downtown parade
It was a pumpkin, crepe paper, orange shade
Half way through the spectacle, it rained
Thank God, I wasn't permanently stained

We used to collect for UNICEF on this holiday
A milk carton is where donors did pay
So a nation of school kids did tout
But whatever did those coins bring about?

Later, I lived All Hallows Eve through others
Like those little kids as ghosts in sheet covers
Passing out bite-size Snicker bars, two for each sack
With me eating one each time my wife turned her back

Most fun of all was dressing up our son
It varied from the jawbone carrying Samson
To any character that wore a cape
Then off to do his "trick or treat" trape

So don't be afraid of a black cat tonight
Or some gruesome mask to fright
Yet, do be wary, for it is scary
Pounds gained in candies wrapped in one bite