October 31st
circled on Gram's calendar—
anniversary of his death

Sunday service
his name remembered
with a single toll

the elderly couple
put on their costumes
Halloween tradition

she prayed her rosary
for saints she knew
and saints she didn't

top quarter champion

TOP half Chamption

bottom quarter champion

a carrot
in the midst of
superheroes

a parade
of short monsters
and miniature superheroes

      up          up
step       step
passing pumpkins
on the way to the door

alone
walking up the steps
the scarecrow comes alive

TOP half champion

CHAMPION

BOTTOM half champion

dark of the night
daring escapades
tonight I am someone else

bubbles blossom and buttercup
my roomates and I
make matching tutus

superheroes and enemies
collaborate
a common goal—candy

happy halloween
cackles the pumpkin
on repeat

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BOTTOM half champion

bottom quarter champion

yellow porch light
straight line of railing
curved line of cat

my luck has
forever run out
adjacent black cat

crunching leaves sound the alarm
little monsters
coming for your candy

yellow leaves fall
a stranger rounds the corner
I break into a run

is thirteen
too old
for tricks and treats?

wistfully watching
children's pealing laughter—
too old to dress up

no desire for
   dressing up on the 31st
       growing up or growing old?

costumes and candy
scattered about
soft snores

top quarter champion

TOP half Chamption

bottom quarter champion

October 30th
our pumpkin
still pristine

sweet tooth
orange, yellow, white
my favorite holiday

college halloween
no one
           knocks

pumpkin carving
scariest thing ever
        —student loans

TOP half champion

CHAMPION

BOTTOM half champion

spooky scary skeletons
won't you join
them for a stroll?

the old cemetery
illuminated in the moonlight . . .
enter if you dare

redrum, redrum
endless scary movie
the carpet shifts beneath

pulse racing
need to get out of here
haunted house

top quarter champion

BOTTOM half champion

bottom quarter champion

clutching her bag
scary decorations
do it for the candy

the princess
holds hands with the ghost
parents smile behind

abandoned lot
teenagers dabble
in things they shouldn't

sixty pumpkins
           in the back of a van
the hammer waits