All Hallows' Eve

The porch lights come on;

kids in costumes fill the street,

bags rustle like leaves.

*

Laughter through the dark,

pumpkins burning on each step,

cats dart through the yards.

*

Fog creeps from the woods;

an old house waits on the hill,

no one lives there now.

*

Dares become more dares;

a loose door groans from a hinge,

something moves inside.

*

One child drops their mask;

the others run, don’t look back.

The door swings open.

*

When the morning comes,

candy is scattered in grass,

the mask left unclaimed.