Halloween

by Paul Zollo
From “Halloween” (2007)

The jack-o-lantern knows my name
And he can beat me at my game
Cause he has seen it all before
From underneath the sycamore
He knows there’s nothing up my sleeves
But the smell of burning leaves
And your tears out in the rain
It’s Halloween again…

We’ll make our costumes out of rags
Cut our masks from grocery bags
Paint our shoes with cherry wine
Wash our hands with turpentine
And in our swallowtail coats
We’ll find out if this old car floats
And fill our pockets up with rain
It’s Halloween again

BRIDGE
It’s Halloween again
And the ghosts know where you have been
Come and see what I have seen
On Halloween

We’ll go where only ghosts can go
In the jack-o-lantern glow
All the dreams that we discard
Stand like scarecrows in the yard
And in the branches I will wait
To see your spirit at my gate
Wrapped in gauze and cellophane
It’s Halloween again