by Shannon Nies

Created on: August 18, 2008

"The Smell of Halloween"

The toast was blackened to a tasteless crisp
But greedy hands, in hunger, reached for it.
She did not care about her filthy wisps;
There was not time to fuss or think or sit.

She did not know it smelled like Halloween:
Sweet candy mixed with jack-o-lanterns' flames.
The festive rug just added to the scene;
Its crazed black cat looked fierce but never tame.

She wandered down the eerie complex halls
And realized it was like a large hotel,
Each guest secluded by the soundproof walls
Not knowing if their neighbors lived in Hell.

It might be best to keep our separate lives
If dangers come from what we might contrive.

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