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TITLE: Costume Party
By Patrick McClure
11/15/05
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Is anyone else disgusted with Christian facades?
With jovial smiles and playful grins

We mingle and interact, inauthentically

Seeing only mouths which deal falsely

And conceal our inner souls

But masked with clever diversions

Our social souls sell lies

To those who only ask

Being polite, perfunctory, busy costuming

Their own faults, sins, realities



Samantha is dressed as a

Cute and charming angel

Ironic she knows if anyone actually knew

Her heart, dark and demented but

They must see my smile, an innocent jiggle of my halo

Trevor’s devil costume finds fans

Among those who know it’s a perfect fit

He laughs around a round of beers

A false, hearty laugh, head cocked back

As if he cares, feeling only cold laughter inside

A ploy, a trick, a subconscious reflex to hide

His inner discontent and unhappiness, but now

It’s somehow adorable, acceptable that

He wears the horns, carries a trident

“Look at Trevor! What a cute little devil”



Guests spend their time catching up

On how each other are

Doing, how things have been

But oddly enough everyone is

Great, wonderful, and couldn’t be better

Masks remain firmly wrapped around

Each ear, attached over the head,

Across the face, some full-bodied

And all-encompassing get-ups

A $25 superman suit, a biker

Chick with leather pants, studded boots

And black, unbreakable helmet, tinted visor



Cocktails are polished off,

Phone numbers exchanged and a few

Unintended naps taken on the corner loveseat

Driving away we feel a tinge of

Buzz, false enjoyment that lasts shortly

And turns to dizzy, stomachache, and bad breath

We met nobody tonight

Talked to many but engaged only

In the false message of the unmasked mouths

Whose smiling masks surpassed the

Guile and effectiveness of all other costumes

We return to our lives, our lies

Samantha looks in her vanity mirror

And removes the halo

Trevor is already asleep on the top of his covers

Bright red pants

Face paint

One horn bent sideways hanging off his left ear
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