THE GREAT PUMPKIN
The Great Pumpkin wears a gold crown and jeweled studded vest,
from a sunshiny flower grew too big, biggest pumpkin—picked best.
Floats from patch to patch, ghostly Great Pumpkin—plump leader,
produce harvest crop—delicious tastes, Halloween pumpkin eater.
Great Pumpkin surprised, pumpkins aren’t vegetables—they are a fruit.
Autumn harvest ripe and ready—a wise snowy owl doesn’t give a hoot.
Pumpkin pickles, pumpkin chili, pumpkin soup—zesty pumpkin power.
Pumpkin pie, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin cake—flavors sweet and sour.
The Great Pumpkin wants busy tasty pumpkins to have a carved-on rest.
Turnips, cantaloupes, pineapples, rutabagas, and watermelon fill-in best.
Line up the carvings, with candles lit—a spooky Rockettes chorus routine.
In the Halloween spotlight—flickering shadowy ghosts and goblins unseen.
Children wear masks, costumes frightening mean and nasty entities,
creating scary images—zombies, ghouls, witches, hide true identities.
Carved pumpkins, candle lit Jack-O’-Lanterns—shadow dancing night,
or paint an elegant Cinderella Pumpkin—rosy cheeked toothless sight.
The Great Pumpkin disappears after trick-or-treat parties on Halloween.
Next year, wait by the pumpkin patch—Great Pumpkin, a spooky scene.
With hugs — ☔
April Ryan has given us numerous stories and poems. She lives in Washington. The pumpkin posterior photo was taken by Ariele in her neighborhood.
SHARING STORIES is a weekly column for and about the 50 plus crowd living in the Puget Sound region. Send your stories and photos to ariele@comcast.net. Tell local or personal stories; discuss concerns around aging and other issues; share solutions, good luck, and reasons to celebrate; poems are fine too. Pieces may be edited or excerpted. We reserve the right to select among pieces. Photos are always a plus and a one-sentence bio is requested (where you live, maybe age or career, retired status, etc.).
SHARING STORIES is featured on http://www.northwestprimetime.com, the website for Northwest Prime Time, a monthly publication for baby boomers, seniors, retirees, and those contemplating retirement. For more information, call 206-824-8600 or visit http://www.northwestprimetime.com. To find other SHARING STORIES articles on this website type “sharing stories” or a writer’s name into the search function above.
