Halloween Again

Happy Halloween again! I always feel a little cheated on the day after Halloween because so many countries outside of the USA go on celebrating All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day, both of which are literally ushered in by Halloween. With that said, here's another festive button to celebrate the holidays. It's a huge button in scrumptious, creamed corn Bakelite. This button is so large that at first glance I thought for sure it had to be a dress clip. It's definitely a button, situated here on a live pumpkin. Carved with a crisscross midsection that reminds me of a bumpy pineapple rind, the design is deep and definitive of Bakelite like so many of those jangly art deco bangles that truly exemplify this swanky old plastic. And back on the subject of Halloween, here's a poem I wrote to commemorate the day after our ghostliest holiday—aptly titled, Halloween Again.

Halloween was yesterday,

But I can’t let it go.

The candle in my pumpkin

Is still giving off a glow.

So I put on my goblin horn

And spooky goblin smock

And keep on trick or treating

Down the street and up the block.

I’m not done with Halloween

And it’s not done with me.

I’m howling, “Boo!”

As to renew my goblin jamboree,

But all my neighbors fuss and cuss

And tell me loud and clear:

HALLOWEEN IS OVER, KID!

IT’S ONLY ONCE A YEAR!

So I tear off my goblin horn

And scream and gripe and pout

And kick my pumpkin off the porch

And blow the candle out.

I’ve had my share of lousy days,

But this one is the worst.

The second round of Halloween

Should be November 1^st!

-Sherbert McGee