Ballad of a Jack-O'-Lantern

I was a pumpkin …once Grown and harvested in the richest soil My flesh could have fed My seeds could have rooted My life could have been meaningful But instead of enriching the potential I had, I was Plucked Stolen The top where my vines clung to my brothers and sisters was severed Sawed off my crude hands The loving goodness The nutritious insides of my soul Were pulled out. Scraped along the sides of my shell. It could have been prized But it was Discarded Regarded As trash Left for the untouchables A crooked smile was carved into my hardened flesh And seedy eyes took over for a face. What am I? How did this happen to me? I wait on the porch now, Filled with artificial light Waiting until the youth of the neighborhood Stamp me out in the street.