Promptly Poetry

Pumpkin Rebel

I plod the sidewalk, looking down at my sneakers
Tired of lit screens indoors, yet too jaded to appreciate my neighborhood.
September tenth in Florida means hot and humid air
No crisp autumn leaves or cable sweaters for me,
Only ragged, droopy Spanish moss dangling from sagging power lines
And knobby bald cypress knees popping from swampy ground.
No bluebirds or goldfinches, chickadees or hummingbirds
Just iridescent squawking grackles and a flock of seagulls if I'm lucky.
You'd never guess what state you're in if you go shopping, though:
Pumpkin spice flavored everything lines shelves decked with tacky fake leaves
And even tackier fake pumpkins of foam and plush and resin.
The kitsch is overwhelming.
Autumn is reduced to a commercialized, artificial sales tactic
Playing on people's desire for peace and comfort and well-being.
I fail to see the benefits of burying myself in decorations unreflective of my true surroundings.
So I trudge past lines of bristly palm trees like giant ungainly vegetables
And wonder why I'm bothering getting fresh air when it's so uncomfortable to be outside in Florida!
Then I see them, three doors down: pumpkins.
Real ones, white ones, sitting in a bed of orange leaves for all the world as if
I were in Massachusetts or something.
I admire the carefully arranged vignette
And wonder why they bothered setting up such a meaningless incongruity.
While I'm staring, the owner comes out to check their mail.
"Oh, you like my display?"
"It's nice." I can't resist asking why, though it's probably a dumb question.
"I'm from up north… I miss the cooler weather this time of year.
So I surround myself with autumn beauty because it brings me home."
Home… a vast word, full of meaning, memories and love, too big to contain.
I chat a moment and continue my stroll with new thoughts in mind;
What means little to me may mean a lot to someone else.
The kitsch which I scoff at on store shelves
May be another person's link to a home far away.
Maybe I'll buy a cute stuffed pumpkin as a gift for my neighbor,
And get to know them better.
Maybe autumn in Florida isn't as bleh as it seems.

35 lines, free verse

Prompt: Image of pumpkins on leafy ground
At least 12 lines
No form requirements

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