Here is what I wrote to my mass-mailout list:

"Some of you have already seen this piece of artistic genius, but for those of you who haven't ... When I was in Grade 4, I entered a school poetry contest with the following masterpiece:

Witches and goblins,
Pumpkins galore,
Where is that candy
I put on the floor?

Is it inside my pocket?
Or inside my shoe?
But worst of all,
Is it inside you?

I won second prize, a book of poetry! (Thank you, thank you!) If anyone feels inspired to send me their own works of Halloween poetry (doesn't everyone have a collection?), I would be happy to display it on my web site. Happy Halloween, everyone!"

Here are the wonderfully creative replies I got back:

Valerie:

The 5-Minute Halloween Limerick:

There was a goblin in Emmaus
who had a ghost in his house
the ghost scared his witch
gave the pumpkin an itch
so he drove it out with a mouse

(Ok, the rhyme isn't perfect, but Shakespeare has a lot worse in his plays...actually, the English language is a lot more generous than German in what is allowed as a rhyme.)

Dill:

OK. When I was merely in Grade 1, I had my first publication! A halloween story I wrote appeared in the school magazine. Here it is...

once a pon a time
a man went into a hows and never cam bac
another man went in to the hows and never cam bac
then another man went in and cam bac and said
there is a gost in it.

As I am sure you recognize, this original masterpiece found its way to
hollywood and many many horror films since then have shamelessly copied
my story lock stock and barrel, into their screenplays! Did I receive a
penny of royalties in all these years?...absolutely not!

I'll save my grade 2 story ("the G files") until next year.

Jane:

I LOVE your poem! That's excellent work, particularly for someone in only grade 4 (did your parents "help" at all?!) I too enjoyed composing poetry when I was a kid, and in grade 6 won a trophy for writing the best poem in my elementary school (not a Hallowe'en one). It's somewhat freeform, to be polite, but I still remember it, so here it is:

"It's Spring?"

There are moles in their holes in the garden
Leaving the poor earth to harden;
But what makes me really forlorn
Is the crows in my very best corn.

Now what my dad had once read
In a big plant book, he said,
Was "ignore all these pests
and all of their nests,
for eventually all will be dead".

But---they're not!
And I worry a lot!
'Cause my very best field
Really does yield
Nothing.

Yes, it's spring.

Valerie:

The 5-Minute Halloween Limerick:

There was a goblin in Emmaus
who had a ghost in his house
the ghost scared his witch
gave the pumpkin an itch
so he drove it out with a mouse

(Ok, the rhyme isn't perfect, but Shakespeare has
a lot worse in his plays...actually, the English
language is a lot more generous than German
in what is allowed as a rhyhme.)

Iain:

The other day I sat and wondered
What it was I ought to ponder
Should I think of this or that?
An ape? A quail? Some beets? A hat?
What questions were there left to pose?
The size of a Plato's left foot toes?
The colour of the perfect rose?
The secret of the Thinker's pose?

But then I came up with a clue
(I suppose all real good thinkers knew)
I leaned way back and raised my feet
And slid my bottom down my seat
My brain, unburdened, began to roll
And thoughts rushed by me quick and droll
Thinking hard I warmed my soul
And flipped with my remote control.