Jack-O-Lantern

Recalling the good old days

Do you remember the very first time

That you saw a “Jack-O-Lantern”

Looking back; you were maybe 4 or 5 years old?

 

Did you grow your own pumpkins in a back yard garden,

Or did you go to a big pumpkin patch to get it?

 

Do you always pick the tall ones, or the big fat ones?

 

Was it your own that your mom or dad carved on the kitchen table,

Cutting open the top, and letting you scrape out all the gooey guts and seeds?

 

Did you dry the seeds in the oven and eat them,

Or save them in an old can to plant in the garden next spring?

 

Was your Jack-O-Lantern scary or happy?

Did you look at it and wonder what made the face glow?

Did you try to see inside his eyes at the flickering flame?

 

Does it bring back memories of a carefree child hood when;

“How much candy did you get” was the most important thing?

 

Now it’s: Plug in pumpkins, Shelves of costumes, hundred dollar decorations,

 And no more “Trick or Treating” for fear of the “bad people”, not  “The Spooks?”

 

What happened to the simple joys of Halloween, and Carving “Jack-O-Lanterns?”

Reviews

[Audrey M.]

I don't recall ever having a pumpkin carved out at home. I only saw them on the porches of houses I used to trick or treat at.
The bad people turned into the monsters😟
Still I like to go for the walk to see people's decorating skills🤷

[Trace]

It's never too late to carve a jack-o-lantern.
Tell the tsle of your first slice of the blade.

Trace.

[s y e]

I'm really late for this one but I loved it nonetheless, Halloween is such a fun time of year! A great poem Trace.

[Trace]

Any time is the perfect time for enjoying poetry
And I am so glad you enjoyed this little scribble.

Trace.

[TL Boehm]

I remember how much fun it was to go door to door, dressed in a home made costume and trick or treat. My kids never got to experience that.

[Trace]

I still remember the ghoul makeup we made from elmers glue and green food coloring.
we wouldnmix it up and paint our faces then when it dried it would wrinkle our face and slowly peel off as the night wore on.

Thank you for reading my work and sharing.

Trace

[MoriartyMesa]

I enjoy the psychological underlining of memory.

[Trace]

Thank you for your excellent comments on this piece.

Trace

[Thomas Fitzgerald]

The good old days indeed, reminds me of a picture I saw earlier this year of the original Irish Jack-o-lanterns, well done, good read.

[Trace]

Thanks Thomas for dropping by to read my little scribbles, and for your wonderful comments and compliments on my poem.

Trace

[MsJewel]

I remember those days of visiting the pumpkin patch to pick out the best pumpkin - for some reason I was always choosing the little scrawny ones....too small to carve, but I would draw on the face with a black marker and glue yarn for the hair...

Those were special times...thank you for the memories sweet beast.

:) Julie

[Trace]

We have two giant pumpkins that Josh just had to have. But they needed help getting them in the car, and couldn't get them out.

Maybe we should save the seeds to grow at our next pumpkin patch.

Thanks for the great comments and sharing your stroll down memory lane with us,

Trace

[Brittany Zedalis]

╰☆╮Good question...I remember when I lived in Florida, the entire neighborhood would decorate for Halloween and all the kids would trick-or-treat at all of the houses, and some even walked through several neighborhoods (I along with some friends did that, man our feet hurt by the end of the night). Now people have to go to malls and stuff in order to trick-or-treat. It sucks.╰☆╮

[Trace]

Now we take my son to what the community calls: "Trunk or Treat" at the church.
Everybody in the neighborhood drives to the church parking lot then puts their trunks up and the kids go around the parking lot while the parents tend to the candy.delivery.

Thank you for sharing your wonderful comments and compliments on this piece.

Trace

[MomzillaNC]

This brought to mind my little boy's first Jack O' Lanterns -- he called them "fire pumpkin" for the first five years of his life." He loved helping me make pumpkin muffin, and pumpkin bread, and pumpkin pie with the insides. He's almost eleven now (come December), but still goes Trick or Treating. Things have changed from when I was a kid; but folks here in NC still carve (or paint) their own pumpkins and still take the kiddies around Trick or Treating.

My son came home with four or five pounds of candy! He thinks I'm mean because he's only allowed to keep one small canister of his favorites.

But, IKWYM about how things have changed. Time was, all the neighbors had kids traipsing through the house for homemade Halloween treats. The kids would be in these elaborate, mom-made costumes (or me-made in my sister's and my case). The treats! Oh my goodness! The treats were all so creative! Candy and/or caramel apples, cheese balls, popcorn balls, candy corn witches (blegh), chocolate and peanut turtles, peanut butter balls, candy green apple frogs, spider cookies, marshmallow ghosts, orange-iced pumpkin shaped bismarks oozing jelly-blood, Hot chocolate and cherry blood (for the little vampires dontcha ya know), white chocolate bones pretzel pieces…

No one does Halloween like that any more. It's all PC and packaged treats and store bought costumes.

[Trace]

Thank you so much for your wonderful comments and sharing your excellent memories.

Hope your Halloween was a fun one.

Trace

[MomzillaNC]

It was. I painted a Dia de los Muertos face for my son's pirate-ghost costume and handed out lots of candy. Hope you had a fun Halloween.

[Matching Socks]

Plug in pumpkins?!?!
What? Who? They should be ashamed...
See these big pumpkins! They're real baby!

[Trace]

LMAO. .... I can only imagine.... but I have never heard of them as pumpkins...
Millions.... yes. And I love em.

Thanks for you excellent comments.

Happy Halloween. ...pumpkin....
Trace

[Trace]

Make that melons. ... hate auto correct.

[Matching Socks]

wtf are you talking about, sheesh... :)

[Trace]

To many pumpkin cookies.