Eric McDonald
Advanced Writing
Block 3
11/12/08
O Pumpkin! O Pumpkin!
Parody of ''O Captain! My Captain!'' by Walt Whitman.
O Pumpkin! My Pumpkin! Your fatal task is done;
The candy bowls stand empty, all the fruit snacks gone but one;
The dawn is near, footsteps I hear, the trick-or-treaters leaving,
Scuffling for the jammed-full bags, the candy from them spilling:
But O heart! Heart! Heart!
O the goopy seed-mass spread,
Where on the deck my Pumpkin lies
A shattered squashy head.
O Pumpkin! My Pumpkin! rise up and hear the bells;
Rise up—for you the witches came—for you the goblins thrilled;
For you cheap costumes from Wal-mart—for you the brats came clomping;
For you they called, the greedy mass, their sneakered feet a-stomping
Here Pumpkin! Dear Squash!
This arm beneath your head;
Is it some dream that on the deck,
you've fallen smashed and dead
My Pumpkin does not answer; his jagged mouth is still;
My Pumpkin's jack-o—lantern face betrays no wit or will;
The greedy street-rats safe at home, their stomachs stuffed with loot;
They stumble in, each with a grin, with chocolates and fruit;
Exult, O doors, and ring, O bells!
But I, with mournful tread,
Sweep the deck my Pumpkin smears,
A shattered squashy head.
My Pumpkin does not answer; his jagged mouth is still;
My Pumpkin's jack-o—lantern face betrays no wit or will;
The greedy street-rats safe at home, their stomachs stuffed with loot;
They stumble in, each with a grin, with chocolates and fruit;
Exult, O doors, and ring, O bells!
But I, with mournful tread,
Sweep the deck my Pumpkin smears,
A shattered squashy head.