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Let the Children Be

'Twas Halloween night and all through the sky,

The clouds hid the moon as the bats glided by.

I was dressed all in white in my mama's old sheet,

Walking with friends down the ghost-haunted street.

All the kids were dressed in bright costumed array,

While flashlights and street lights guided our way.

We giggled and laughed as we hurried to each door,

Ringing or knocking, then laughing some more.

There were pumpkins aglow and skeletons dangling,

Scarecrows and shadows and silver chains clanging.

Grownups in masked faces opened doors in greeting,

As we stood with our bags and waited for treating.

Some people say that we should not have this night,

That too many kids are harmed by the sights or the fright -

But it's the one time a year when we can pretend to be

Someone else for a while, not you - not even me.

-

Let them celebrate now, as the bats glide on by,

For childhood is brief, like the blink of an eye.

Listen to their laughter and let the children be

Someone else for a while, not you and not even me.

A poem by

Judith A. Lindberg