From my 2014 collection Autumn Lauds: Poems for the Halloween Season, a selection about selection:

Patch Match

If the pumpkins picked us,
Who would they choose?

The still-ripening
Or the fully-grown

The flawless-skinned
Or the distinctly grotesque

The dull and unassuming
Or the imaginative and ambitious

The butchers eager to cut and gut
Or the more pacifistic painters

The ones who would leave them be
Or those who would let them become?

For more on/of Autumn Lauds, check out my website’s dedicated page, this previous post, and the Look Inside feature on Amazon.