October’s Poem
faker scrounges up a cowboy outfit
escapes
boys descend
on the three-block march
dividing up Autumn’s decorated terrain
for a night of treasures
golden leaves kicked airborne
by frantic feet heading door to door
with talk of bicycles and Saturday matinees
smiling pumpkins with candles map the way
there is a delight in the neighbors
as sugary bounty bangs against paper bags
it’s only a momentary childhood
returning to reality
the cowboy sneaks back to darkness
where a shadowy figure sits in silence
ignoring each doorbell ringing
fixated on flickering television greyness
elixir in hand
beyond the threshold now
belonging and not belonging
he moves quietly up the stairs
with a meaningless bag of candy
hoping plastic six-guns could protect him
did the monsters make Halloween
or did Halloween make the monsters
Zack Hoffman 2024
(Originally published in Late Model)
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Zack! It’s great to read your poems again. I hope all is well and that our paths cross soon.
Ack, good one. Scary and achy transcribed and transmitted. Ow. Good one.
Sobering. This is a good one, Zac, especially the last two lines.