On Halloween Milt Plum Gave Out Autographed Pictures of Himself Instead of Candy

An outrage—
on a night cold as the Arctic
he invited us in
hands trembling
as he dropped his image
in a paper bag
the 1959 Cleveland Browns uniform
lost in the fumbled dark
and no candy—
here you go
he said—
we mumbled thank you
and walked slowly off the porch
like plumed tin soldiers on
parade
trooping the colors
but nothing explained—
only the adult world
as always
inscrutable
unsung
a winter photograph
beneath leafless branches—
and snow starting to fall
like shrapnel
on the lake
on the city

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John Stupp is the author of the 2007 chapbook The Blue Pacific and the 2015 full-length collection Advice from the Bed of a Friend, both by Main Street Rag. His new book Pawleys Island will be published by Finishing Line Press. He lives in Sewickley, Pennsylvania.