The Night before Halloween

Last year, on the night before Halloween,

My nephew’s daughter decided to be an angel

Assigned to watch over shortsighted Mr. Magoo.

But this year she’s decided to be a witch

With a crew of pirates in thrall to her,

Which is fine with her father,

Who’s glad to help her shape a pointed hat

And blacken a weathered pair of sneakers.

It’s good for her to explore her options,

He reasons. Good to learn early that work

Isn’t a matter of one true calling

And many ill-fitting substitutes, that more

Than one kind of work can make a person happy,

And every experiment is a chance to learn.

I can see his point that if she ends up earning

Her living, say, as an officer of the law,

Some prior work as a labor leader may prompt her

To let a peaceful protest continue

Without a permit. If she ends up as a labor leader,

Some prior work as an officer of the law

May prompt her to urge the city workers

Who keep the streets clean to end their slowdown

When the mayor finally agrees to parley.

So maybe her being an angel last year

Will prompt her this year to order her pirates

To focus, when boarding a ship under her spell,

Just on the passengers who look as if the loss

Of half their portable property

Won’t matter to them in the long run.

As for who she may want to be next year,

If this year’s stint as a witch deepens

Her sense of the dangers that threaten

An innocent like Mr. Magoo,

She may want to be an angel again.

It will be a challenge to help him,

A man who believes he’s strolling

A country lane when in fact he’s crossing

Main Street in killer traffic. Now for the thrill

Of bringing him home at dusk unscathed.