All Hallows Eve

My mother taught each one of us
to pray
as soon as we could talk
and every Halloween
to comfort us
before she went to work
my mother cooked fresh pumpkin with brown sugar
and placing penny candles in our windows
she said her yearly prayers
for all our dead.

As soon as mother left us
we feasted on warm pumpkin
until the empty pot sang out its earthy smell
and then, our mouths free,
we told each other stories of other Halloweens
making our wishes true
while from our windows
we watched the streets grow dark
and the witches slowly gathering below.

In each window
a penny candle in its own dish of water
flickered around our tales
throughout the evening.
Most of them burnt down
before our stories ended
and we went to bed
without replacing them.