Nihon Gaki No Halloween

Nihon Gaki No Halloween
  ( にほん がき おｆ はっぉうぇえん)

Japanese Gaki know Halloween,
The night we give, in ritual,
  Food for hungry ghosts

Gaki haunt, unheard, unseen,
Skinny arms, needle necks,
Breath that smells of rot, or turd,
Thank God they can’t be seen or heard,
  Yet they are there

So hungry, they cannot eat,
Food burns - hot flames - leap in their mouths,
So thirsty, they cannot drink,
Tiny throats to narrow even to let drip,
  Their pain is real

Building good karma,
  We can help,
The Buddha made one magic act,
  By his generosity,
We shall give them ritual leftovers,
  Thanksgiving seconds,
  Christmas dinner on boxing day,
  Communion wafers after mass
 
Our children will dress up and play,
Go tricks or treats at dusk today,
For the Gaki’ sake we feed them too,
Tonight, adorable childhood mayhem
 
And when that’s done,
After midnight,
  When the last horror movie’s run,
We think of you,
  So tragic the death,
  The horrible injustice,
  Endless roaming without rest

And Halloween is a ritual feast,
Look, I’ve some leftover treats!
  For all the good that it can do,
With prayers and hopes, this ritual food,
  I place out on the stoop for you