In the Spirit (of Kentucky Photographer Ralph Eugene Meatyard)

Back when the world was black and white, 
folks had no use for Halloween.
Any occasion sufficed. 

People of all ages apparently 
went everywhere wearing nightmare masks.

A one-armed man at the end of his long workday
would pose beside a headless mannequin in lingerie.  

To impress friends or on a dare, a child wearing a dress jumped
from a granary or icehouse loft in a blur.

This optician made his unusual name
taking these oddly mystical pictures
mostly to amuse himself. 

Faith is weird that way.