Halloween:

when children can wear their heroes’ shoes
and their fantasy’s crown,
be bigger than a nightmare
and turn a monster into nothing but a mask.

The curtain call for every PlayDay
and dress-up rehearsal,
all the world a fabulously dressed guest,
a sparkling and ghoulish theatergoer.
Each takes her turn, then his,
emerging from offstage as
Mistress Goddess Queen of Glamour Herself
and King Dragon Slayer Captain Triumph.

At the last call, to the applause of a thousand
bronze-armed trees and the grinning glee of
each glowing gourd face,
they rise
red and blue capes,
broomsticks and
rocketshoes,
fairy wings and wands swirling breathlessly
into the red carpet sky, snapped clean by
the admiring wind.

They shine,
and light up the night of the last great show of the season.