Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

John Frederick Nims’ "Trick or Treat" uses the imagery of Halloween to explore themes of memory, aging, and the fleeting nature of time. Through a lighthearted yet deeply reflective tone, the poem juxtaposes childhood’s playful disguises with the more serious and irreversible transformations that come with age. The speaker, observing children in their festive costumes, finds himself caught between nostalgia and the sobering recognition that life itself is a kind of masquerade, one that inevitably ends when the final costume—one’s youthful body—wears away.

The poem begins with a playful contrast: Holy and hokey, Halloween. The alliteration and near-rhyme establish an immediate rhythm, while the opposition of holy and hokey captures the dual nature of the holiday. Halloween carries both a sacred history, rooted in ancient festivals honoring the dead, and a commercialized, theatrical absurdity where children parade as ghosts and goblins. This duality sets the stage for the poem’s meditation on the intersection of innocence and mortality.

The scene then zooms in on children trick-or-treating: That kindergarten of witches in the street, / Skeletons (but with tummies) doorbell high / Piping up, ‘Trick or treat!’ The phrase kindergarten of witches is humorous, evoking both the literal sense of young children dressed as witches and the more abstract idea of a fledgling group in training. The detail of skeletons (but with tummies) playfully acknowledges the artifice of costumes—these are not true specters of death, but rather well-fed children impersonating them. The innocent call of “Trick or treat!” functions as both a demand for candy and a larger metaphor for life’s unpredictability: will it offer delight (treat) or hardship (trick)?

The poem takes a personal turn as the speaker recalls seeing a loved one dressed in costume many years ago: To think I saw you, spangled so, / Rouged, in your Puss-in-Boots / Some forty and more years ago! The tone is affectionate, tinged with wonder at the passage of time. The reference to Puss-in-Boots suggests a youthful exuberance, a time when dressing up was a matter of joy and play rather than a reminder of life’s transience. The phrase some forty and more years ago lands heavily, shifting the poem’s focus from childhood revelry to the realization that time has slipped away unnoticed.

Memory and reality blur in the following lines: Memory: the reruns in full color seem / As three-dimensional as now. / Could it be now's the dream / We've been bewitched by? The use of reruns in full color likens recollection to a film playing in the mind, vivid and immersive. The rhetorical question suggests that the past may feel more real than the present, as if life itself is a trick played by time. The notion of being bewitched ties back to Halloween but also suggests an existential unease—perhaps the greatest illusion is the belief that we exist firmly in the now, when in truth we are always slipping toward the then.

The poem then introduces a striking analogy: We've dealt with clothes before; know well / Just what they hallow, and how they fall away / Strewing the floor in moonlight; yes, / Into and past midday. The comparison of clothing to the body suggests that, just as costumes are discarded after a night of revelry, so too are youthful bodies shed over time. The word hallow recalls the sacredness of All Hallows’ Eve, but it also plays on hollow, hinting at the emptiness left behind when vitality fades. The image of garments strewn across the floor in moonlight is intimate and evocative, carrying undertones of both love and loss. The phrase into and past midday subtly conveys that the speaker is past the prime of life, moving beyond the noon of existence.

The final stanza returns to the present with a tone that is both wistful and celebratory: Good costumes then. But now let's play / Pretend with those glittering infants at the door. The speaker acknowledges the joy of past disguises but also suggests that pretending is not merely for children—it is a lifelong act. By calling the children glittering infants, he imbues them with a sense of wonder and luminosity, recognizing their role in the ongoing cycle of life.

The closing lines carry a note of urgency: Now that our autumn's come and soon / The snows arrive—before / We're out of costumes and a place to play, / Of zest for the zany carnival in the street, / Out of breath, out of world and time / Teasing with ‘Trick or treat!’ The mention of autumn transitioning into snow is an unmistakable metaphor for aging and the approach of death. The phrase before we're out of costumes suggests that, unlike Halloween, where one can don a new disguise each year, life allows for only one body, and once it wears out, the game is over. The repetition of out in out of breath, out of world and time intensifies this sense of finality, as if the speaker is running out of both physical vitality and existence itself.

Yet, rather than ending on a mournful note, the poem concludes with the playful echo of “Trick or treat!” The phrase, which began as a child’s demand for sweets, now serves as a kind of existential challenge—teasing fate, embracing the fleeting nature of life with humor and defiance. It suggests that even as time plays its tricks, one can still choose to revel in the treat of being alive.

Through its seamless blend of nostalgia, philosophical reflection, and humor, "Trick or Treat" captures the paradox of human existence: the awareness of mortality does not necessarily dampen joy but instead makes it more precious. Nims masterfully transforms a children’s holiday into a meditation on the passage of time, inviting readers to embrace life’s masquerade with both wisdom and playfulness.

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