After a day spent
screwdriver in hand
piecing together the Ikea bed
I found it a delight
as evening fell
to welcome trick-or-treaters
at our door
neighborhood children dressed
as tigers, pirates
witches, ghosts and ghouls
the parents close behind
looking on with pride and pleasure
as their youngsters reveled
in what seemed little more
than a masked candy grab
yet there is something more
something as ancient
as the tribal world
with its economy of gift exchange
and there's the power
of a mask to change reality
to create another very different self
no wonder we remember them
as magical
our childhood walkabouts
on Halloween