Tanka
by John Sheirer

Halloween afternoon
our private version
of trick-or-treat
we eat candy corn
off each other's bodies

after lovemaking
and after the afterglow
we share sips
of warm lemonade
from a bedside glass

the scent of candles
an hour after
we've blown them out
in complete darkness
whispering each other to sleep

her head
in my lap
half asleep
I describe for her
the afternoon snowfall

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