Halloween Night Poem by Bing Hua

Halloween Night

By Bing Hua

TR. By Wang Dajian


October sees the trees donned in colors
The branches decked with scarlet-flickers
have set the orange pumpkins of lamps alight

Boys and girls are playing reality-show of their dreams
Snow White and Prince Charming are together
The mischievous youngsters are justified to be
"What if we for once act out the monsters? "

Costumed parents and kids are lovely pals
They are in groups of threes or fives
milling round after round for Trick or Treat
They knock on the familiar doors with strange facades
and flick on that juvenile glimmer in the seniors' eyes
The candles inside the pumpkins illuminate the roads
The pumpkin-boxes are brimming with sweets
The wind's crooning on the bounty from behind the trees
Every bit as sweet as honey as wine is mellow
such is the Halloween night

It is not clear though if that girl
whose parents have lost their jobs
and are unable to buy her new costume
her features washed by delight
isstill blinking the tears that morning saw
around the corners of her eyes