Just One Halloween (2010)

Cotton cobwebs fuzz the ceiling,
clinging to the corners with frosty, fluttering tentacles. Plump black
widows sporting bow ties splay shadow ribboned corners. Pleather-winged bats
with styrofoam fangs flap in the torrential currents
of ceiling fans. Twiggy brooms with plastic glazed handles balance
by the door – but no single cathedral-spire peaked head grabs one, shatters
through window panes, sonics over moons
to anywhere elsewhere at all.

The floor sprouts legs shuffling to rat-a-tat-ing heart-drums
while pretenders pop truffles
into lipsticked ear-to-ear smiles or nuclear bomb explosions
of glitter-pixie-fairy-dream-dust-lip-glossed grins.

Red stilettos under a frothing blue plaid jumper trip-trap
across candy wrapped floor boards slick with foamy beer.
Tilt skywards up translucent smoked legs.
Pause at Dorothy’s cobwebbed smile,
stubble-shadowed cheeks,
and mustache fuzzed lips.

Underneath the dead disco moon, crescent-sliced
by shadows into cheshire grins, I tap
one checkered shoulder. Two red plastic beer cups click together over ruby stilettos.

“Won’t you please come home with me?”