Penny for a Poem

Hallows Eve

The crisp fall air whispers of change, as pumpkins grin from porches far and near.
The time has come, a night both sweet and strange, when spirits walk and shadows draw more near.
For years, I've waited for this hallowed eve, a night when oddities are welcomed in.
When monsters dance and witches laugh with glee, and darkness is embraced, not deemed a sin.
I've worn my mask throughout the common days, a shield to guard against judging eyes.
Pretending normalcy in countless ways, concealing truths behind a thin disguise.
But as the veil between the worlds grows thin, and jack-o'-lanterns flicker in the night, I feel a surge of courage from within, to shed my facade in the candlelight.
For on this night of spirits and of spells, when boundaries blur 'tween real and make believe, my true self rises, breaks free from its shell, no longer fearing what others perceive.
With pointed ears or scales upon my skin, with glowing eyes or teeth unusually sharp,
I walk the streets, no costume to blend in, my genuine self, no longer playing a part.
The children stare in wonder, not in fright, their parents smile, assuming it's disguise.
But little do they know, on this one night, I'm finally seen by their unseeing eyes.
Among the ghouls and goblins I now stride, no mask required to hide what lies beneath.
My differences, once cause for me to hide, are celebrated on these haunted streets.
The werewolf nods, the vampire tips his hat, the zombie groans a greeting as we pass.
We recognize each other, this and that, kindred spirits, free at last, at last.
For one brief night, the world turns upside down, and all that's strange becomes the status quo.
The outcasts rule, the weird wear the crown, and I can simply be, and freely grow.
But as the moon begins its slow descent, and jack-o'-lanterns flicker, growing dim,
I savor every moment, every scent, this night where I need no mask to fit in.
For when the sun rises on November's day, and normalcy resumes its iron grip,
I'll carry with me memories of the way it felt to let my true self simply slip into the open, unafraid and bold, accepted for the creature that I am.
These memories I'll cherish and I'll hold, until next Halloween, when I can stand again among the spirits and the night, unmasked, unjudged, and finally belonging.
Until that time, I'll dream of candlelight, and count the days 'til next All Hallows' Evening.