Are You Happy Now? - Richard Shindell

You took the toaster when you went

You never paid your half the rent

You took the spices from the rack

But you don’t have to put them back

Cause in your haste on Halloween

You left your camera on the bed

Where we played roles in black and white

You left a role of black and white

I set the timer and thought of you

And put the lens up to my head

I took a photograph for you

What comes out gray is really red

Are you happy now?

I smashed your pumpkin on the floor

The candle flickered at my feet

As goblins flew across the moon

The children peered into the room

A cowboy shivered on the porch

As Cinderella checked her watch

A hobo waited in the street

An angel whispered, trick-or-treat

But what was I supposed to do

But to sit there in the dark?

I was amazed to think that you

Could take the candy with you too

Are you happy now?

I’ve sat all night and now it’s dawn

And I cannot believe my eyes

There’s garbage strewn across the lawn

Where we once stared up at the sky

And streams of paper fill the tree

That hovered over you and me

Shaving cream covers the car

That we picked up in Baltimore

Though I know it’s hard to tell

I hope that what’s-his-name treats you well

I still maintain that he’s a bum

But it’s your money — have some fun

And are you happy now?

You always asked why I had not

Written you a verse or two

Since that’s the one thing I regret

I dedicate this one to you

Are you happy now?

Are you?