Pass the pumpkin, the chocolate, the fun,
The lies of danger  should be over and done.
One family  did it to their  own and  just once
sure  they faltered, history shows,
But tonight the laughter in every street grows.

One girl, once
a story twisted till now, her family the foe, no one else involved anyhow
Caught in a lie that everyone seemed to know.
Not strangers , not once not ever.
Just one poor  family that wasn't that clever.
No one hiding  in shadows, not monsters in the dark,
But blood-bound kin,
their hands left this mark.

Hospitals have known, urgent care has seen,
The truth of Halloween is far from mean.
Safe, joyous, mischievous, costumes that gleam,
The streets belong to witches, to pirates, to dreams
Fun and silliness careless  youth and recorded  screams.

An urban legend  got demonized an blown out of proportion
safety and the love for our kids  twisted through  the  telephone game lens  and added distortion .

Its just not true !
I happily did all the research for  you.
No records of admittance
no insurance claims
no weirdos  doing bad stuff anyone can actually name
or  blame.

There never were ANY bad  treats

just A bad horror story repeated on every neighborhood street.

All hospitals keep an accurate ledger, even backwoods halls,
Even Appalachian urgent care, has no  documented calls.
So dress up,  go out ,  hit up the streets and the malls
Put the fear back in the costumes where it belongs
let em bob  for  apples and sing silly songs.

Before the jack-o’-lanterns glowed in autumn night,
Before ghosts and goblins gave the town such  a fright,
Records stood silent, precise and unbending,
No claims, no apple admittance
no illness or bad will not then,  not now,  not ever
no children’s lives were ending.
Just more 80's satanic panic
the buzz **** un ending
its a hollow lie and not worth defending.

So stop the fear-mongering, the horror tales  grown stale,
Let kids run laughing,
let candy prevail.
There never have been any  poisoned chocolates
no apples that killed,
Just friends in the night, chasing thrills
and the  thrilled.
Buckets full of love and fun to be
filled and then spilled.
Hoarded or traded
at school  so  proudly coveted or paraded.
Trick or treat indeed
its the good time we all enjoy and need.

This is the  truth easily verifiable
so let em have fun
and it IS  
FUN
undeniable.
  Happy Halloween   go out and  enjoy  it .
Spread the truth, not fear and unfounded lies
give love and receive love
and enjoy a surprise .
HAPPY HALLOWEEN  !!

.

She kissed
With such fervor
As though she didn't
Just wanted to be love
But to be heard, to be felt
She kissed so much
Like she wanted
To tell her life story
Of her pain, her loneliness
All through her lips
As though words weren't enough
And I listened to her
That her story was safe
That every emotion is here
Locked between our lips

I have to wash the dishes before I write my suicide note.
Put away the clothes on the chair. Water the plants. Feed the cats.
Find a lighter that still works.
A sweater that doesn't smell of smoke.

I need to taste summer fruit with juice running down my wrist and chin.
Walk into the river until the current holds me steady.
Touch someone's shoulder and not let go too fast.

I want to hear a stranger laugh like it matters.
Carve initials into damp wood.
Keep a secret rock in my pocket until it's smooth with worry.
Dance to the music of thunder.
Converse with the beetle on my window.

I need to read the last page of a book in the sunlight.
Collect bones, shells, cigarette butts. Proof I was here.
Take a bus to nowhere just to come home again.
Tell someone I love them and mean it, even if they forget.
Kiss someone I don’t love just to feel the weight of it.

The words taste like rain on metal.
I’ll take a photo of myself and delete it.
Count the cracks in the ceiling.
I leave the door unlocked.
I crumple up the page.
For now.

My mind is spinning in the river of thoughts
Swimming around
trying not to drown
Trying to survive
while everything else overflows
in just a second

Everything is calm
is what I say to myself and others
But behind the island are clouds of grey
And an angry sea
A sad sea
A place that does not know how to act

I liked the island
It is a safe space
One I imagined to be safe
But at a time the island cannot love and protect
If I don’t learn to take cover
I build the house
But it just breaks down because of the storm

I like the island
but the storm is more mine
More than the island will ever be

More than you will ever be

waiting for a hand to
reach out that was never
there, no one to help me
I was alone, made stronger
but I didn't need to be strong,

I needed to be safe.

this interactive abbreviation,
into the Most Mysterious complexities.
the Me, Myself of yourself, warrants,
demands slow inroads,
careful wording,
the clarity of unreasonable seasonal change,
as end of summer here hints unsubtly of
Major changes yet to come,
too soon, too early but soon
enough is the inevitability,
for you poetry hides nothing,
there is passion tempest that
releases lava flows, tossing,
skyward hot ashes of possibility,

your expertise is passionate devotion,
into the greatest of human mysteries,
of which, it is written, the lines of
its formation have etched curiosity
upon your figurative face, and this
scrip, writ, expressively and expressly,
even expertly, shall be our privy to
no one else, but we explorers...

need not say more, but your high
sense of intriguing, begs me to
offer me the opportunity to offer you,
the inviting risk, of ask me anything,
and you shall be received...welcomed

6:27am here, the sun is gentle climbing,
and the first poem of this day completed,
and instantly, released, and given solely,
to moi, to Me, by Me, for you...

i thought you said
that you would listen
to anything
i would have to say.
that you --
were my safe space.

maybe not anymore.

I Am Covered, by
the Grace of God,
He puts his arms of
protection around me,
the Lord keeps me protected
from things I do not see,
I Am Covered, and
YES, I DO BELIEVE!!!,
He sends His Angel's
to keep me from harm,
Watching me at night,
into the early morn!!!
I know that I Am safe,
as I continue to Pray,
For the Lord to keep watch
and to Direct my way!!!
For, I Am Covered,
He will protect me
from Day to Day!!!!


B.R.
Date: 8/9/2025

Stars above, so soft and bright,
Shine on Gaza through the night.
Hold each child in quiet grace,
Bring them hope and a safe place

Let them dream, let them play,
Let them see a peaceful day.
Hear this prayer, so small and true.
Love and light for children too.

God above, so kind and near,
Keep the children safe from fear.
Give them beds and skies so blue,
And let them laugh like others do.