Photos and a poem - I promise there really is a pumpkin on the page

Halloween morning in Manhattan Beach. A day that can't decide whether to rain or shine.

Cinderella, Revisited

In the hushed and hollow chamber

she crouched shivering at the hearthstone.

Skimpily clad in clammy chemise and skivvies

the incessant cinders swept into the crackling ashes,

the pitchfork stuck in the pile of muck in the corner,

the screeches and screams of

her fat flatulent sisters finally ceased.

Bedecked, bejeweled, and befuddled

they parted in their livery

Into the black celestial night

to trample the toes and hearts 

of their pitiful twirling partners

while she huddled and willed her

wishes to fruition, 

and alas they were

by three miniscule mice 

and a miraculous squash

plucked fresh from the pumpkin patch.