Andrew Badger’s most recent poem to appear here was “Alleluia” (July 2016) 

October
By Andrew Badger

All Saints Eve
cool, moon lit
in a cloudless sky

seeing hordes
of ghouls, demons,
and frightful creatures
using the voices
of neighborhood kids

threatening us with drastic
tricks should we
not bless them
with treats
that dentists
secretly condone
to ensure a profit.

But we, who’ve sent
a merry company
of our creatures
with big bags
for treats and small
lists of tricks
collected ages ago
when soap and candle wax

headed the meanest
tricks we did
to merchants
our parents
didn’t patronize.

And then October like
September
explodes with football
stimulated now
by the World Series.