This Halloween, when children don disguise
to beg from me their treats, with wails and sighs,
and witch's hat and broom, and blacked out tooth,
put on to hide their innocence and youth,
I have in store for them a bleak surprise.
I shall, but in reverse, respond likewise,
removing my false teeth, to hear their cries
when they discover age holds horrid truth
this Halloween.
My hearing aids are off, their screaming dies!
My glasses shall no longer be my spies
to soften me towards their dreadful ruth.
Decrepitude is frightful, too, forsooth!
You'll shield your little monsters, if you're wise
this Halloween.
|
Author Notes
Ruth: a feeling of distress, or grief.
Image: Two Old Men Eating Soup, 1819-23. Museo del Prado, Madrid
|
|
