Halloween Night (1954) Poem by Barbara Buxton

Pumpkins growing in a field
by a South Carolina rural road
waiting for a steal.

Big ones, Small ones, Fat ones, Round ONES
BIG ORANGE pearls
TOO heavy for young girls
Trying to impress young boys on a
FREAKY Halloween NIGHT.

Stolen pumpkins out of somebody's field?
An unlawful act WE'LL never reveal.

Pumpkin vines try to trip me down.
Feet running hard on unlevel ground;
lungs bursting with frosty Autumn air.

BOYS throwing cuss words EVERYWHERE...

He's coming.....THE FARMER....and he's got a GUN!

he shoots....
we drop
our pumpkins and BOY do we run.
We fall in the car...we were.....just havin'
fun...

A little Halloween mayhem turned into fright.
Kids turned into banshees by THE magic
of THE night.

Nervous laughter fills the car
all the way into town;
we expect police to come
and throw us on the ground;
slap us in hand curffs, read us our rights;

but no si-reen comes and no flashing lights...

They don't come and...
we get back into town
with a pumpkin..........just one...

SOMETHING MUST BE DONE!

The morning in the town square brings shocking surprise...

An old lady yells,
'LORD ALMIGHTY, ' SHE CRIES,
'Look......the statue.....his hat...
.......SWEET JESUS, ' she wails.
'Our precious Civil War General...

SOMEBODY'S GOIN' STRAIGHT TO HELL! '