I wore a sheet wrapped around
my fluffy baby blue parka
the rain stuck the sheet to the parka
and I was a wet ghost

My hood up, white fur around my face
mittens holding out a pillowcase
remembering the code
Trick or Treat
then you get candy

Cold and wet
I didn’t feel my feet
my peeled off socks next to me
as I laid out my spoils
and traded with my brother
a wet hillbilly

This never changes

The year of 9/11
my youngest was 18 months old
my oldest in kindergarten
the baby was eager to learn
and held out her bag, amazed
as adults dumped candy into it, house after house
she knew the code. Her version: Gick oo Geet!

There were a lot of flags out that October
her favorite things were flags and planes
planes made me nervous
they weren’t just planes anymore
but she made me see them her way

She’d point: P’ane! F’ag!
I could see the lure
the delight in
a colorful, fluttering banner
a toy streaming across the sky

Halloween night our neighbors
had a pumpkin flag out front
F’ag!
I had to carry her spoils
and her sister got the better of them
during the swap later at home

But the most fun, that year
was Eliza’s joy. Gick oo Geet!
P’ane! F’ag!
Helping us forget
Planes. Flags.