Sweet And Sour Halloween. We have a 'Welcome All' sign adorning our door But that 'Howdy' loses its sheen come Halloween, Kids come a'rappin' just to come runnin' back for more- Guess handfuls of M&M's beats the rush of Benzedrine. Each hungry soul, double dipping and double dealing, All filled with a deep primeval heartfelt burning need, All too soon my treat bag held that empty feeling, Yet they continue to have an all-consuming greed. They're here knockin' again and they ain't gonna leave, Kids of today, like I did in in my sweet toothed youth Believe it's OK to give but far more fulfilling to receive- Been my Gospel truth since I received my first Baby Ruth. So I emptied out my covert Covid candy secret stash, Aghast, I watched as my basket emptied, and toot suite, Seeing my empty look made teeny tiny milk teeth gnash- Soon I'd discover the cruel childish side of Trick or Treat. Those bloodthirsty nippers were still not content, They wanted more, more, more, but I'd been bled dry, Behind smiley masks teeth shone, bright, malevolent They demanded my S'mores, with dark avaricious eye. I could do no more than raise up my empty hands Appeal to the better nature of the little bu- beggars, But within this lot of buccaneers, pirates and brigands Lies a deep pocket of nasty stinking rotten little eggers. Here I was, on Halloween, left bereft, with no more to give, Talks were going downhill quick, and about to get trickier- I made a fateful decision- one at night I lie awake and relive- Closing the door on their demands made my situation stickier. Now there's no 'Welcome' sign adorning our darkened door, Nowadays I can no longer entertain Halloween at our place, Wise-cracking munchkins don't tap-tap on our door anymore, Slammin' my screen door left me wide open to egg on my face.

'Kids ain't all sweetness and light when they rock up on Halloween night.' (Theme song for this could be 'Cracking Up' by Nick Lowe.)
©Obbverse.