Dessert Disappointment

"There's none so rare/ as can compare"
with a good slice of pumpkin pie. So say I, though I would have thought
the adjective unnecessary until today when I learned, to my
sorrow, that there is such a thing
as stale pumpkin pie. Of course too there's
sweet potato pie, a delicacy I have relished
a time or two. But (good) pumpkin pie, that's
the best; always a disappointment to hear at the counter, "Oh,
we only have that in November." Once in my younger days I
baked a pumpkin chiffon pie because I did not want to be
boring; it was all right but though not boring did not
come up to the mark; pumpkin pie is it. Mince pie you can keep;
at Thanksgiving Uncle Tom Robinson always brought mince
pie and people put ice cream on it and raved but for me
it was a mystery why they liked it. I ate
pumpkin, all I could eat. But today, alas, I learned
that though all pumpkin pie is created equal, some
is left standing too long. Next time, don't hide it,
bring it to me! It's
what I'm waiting for.