If Faith Were Gold

I wouldn't have enough

To spend

I would go through mine

Quickly

With nothing much to show

There wouldn't be enough to

Gild anything

I own

This small nugget

Wouldn't impress anyone

Once refined

There would be only enough

To form a simple

Band

For me to wear

To show that I belong

To someone

Pumpkin

Walking the rows

Between pallets weathered gray

Carrying an imperfect display

Of various shapes

And sizes

Some have no stems

Some lean to the side

I'm looking for the one

That magazines

And television

Have fashioned as my ideal

(With my approval, of course)

Pumpkin perfection

Perfectly round

Perfectly orange

An enviable stem

But these

Every one

Flawed

The perfect fruit does not exist here

So I choose one with

Deep character lines

Round

With a good stem

The flat spot

Won't show against the wall

I'll give it nice teeth

And a keen sense

Of humor

Drive

The last time I traveled this road

I was a new husband

A new father

Trying to make my way in the world

By first

Making my way to a small factory

In the middle of nowhere

Anxious to take the brown Omega

In a new and different direction

But by perceived necessity

Slowly leaving a rut here

Now

The trees are older

There are a few new houses

Dropped at random in a clearing

The new blacktop

Can barely hide the chatter bumps

Asking me where I've been

And if my dreams came true

As the leaves turn golden

In the rear view mirror

Page-a-Day Calendar

Each day a new puzzle

Mensa approved

A word or math problem

For someone to solve

If you know synonyms

Antonyms

Formulas

The problem today

Will not overwhelm you

But if you are lacking

Ambition for that

You'll be much better off

With just pictures

Of cats