The Life of a Jack-O-Lantern
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I start from a seed, so slimy and white,
growing to guide trick-or-treaters at night.
I summon phantoms on All Hallow’s Eve.
Costumed young wanderers dare to believe
that ghouls, spooks, and monsters cavort in the dark,
‘neath crooked-branched trees, witch-fingered and stark.
My squashy beginnings, my orange-lit disguise,
once swollen vine changeling, now dazzling the eyes.
My fiery lit heart burns so brightly inside.
My craggy carved teeth show my grin with bright pride.
I smile with my cousins and light up the gloom.
I bring yellow light to the depths of a room.
The spirit of Halloween shines through my husk.
My sweet invitation spills out in the dusk.
But, soon I will shrivel, my grin turn to smirk.
My lid will fall in and my candle won’t work.
So stop to admire before you walk on,
for in a few nights my fright lights will be gone.
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