Tale of Two Pumpkins


Momma told me one day I would be a pumpkin head
Turning to the pumpkin growing beside me, I asked
Do you know what that means, did your momma tell you?
Sorry, he said, ‘I have no idea
I did hear a whisper along our row
That when we get sold in the shops
People out there when they buy one of us
They cut your head off, scoop out your insides
Cut strange faces on your body
Odd, shaped eyes, nose. Mouth with crooked teeth
Then there is the day they light a candle inside
Warms up our innards, fills the room with our scent
Farmer Tom does it, gives out sweets to the kids
His wife, they say, is trying to learn French
You can hear her when she’s working in the fields
I like it there; they keep the place nice
Mind you, the last whisper I heard about one of their holy days
All Hallows Eve, they call it, when the dead come back for an hour
Can you imagine that?
What if one of them tapped the missus on the shoulder?
She would jump so high she wouldn’t come down till next week
Are you sure you heard right, dead people walking?
Mind you, we’ll be long gone by then
Into the shops for us, we are almost ready
He’ll load us on to his truck
The missus will do a shop in town while he unloads
Then they’ll have tea before going home.
So that’s the end of our story?
It’s doubtful we will be picked by the same customer
So, Bon Voyage my friend
Somebody will cut us up, one way or another
With any luck, they might plant a seed or two
A part of you can come back
New field, new you. There’s no avoiding fate…

© AnitaDawes2021