Best Radishes Poems
Cauliflower clouds drift past broccoli trees,
where bright carrot paths lead to vegetable seas.
Tall corn sentries stand straight in a row,
while wild little radishes have no where to go.
Straight stalks of celery spar with asparagus heads,
with an audience of onions and green lettuce beds.
Big juicy tomatoes go look for a thrill,
they stomp on the squash but fall flat on some dill.
Fresh cut potatoes walk boldly around,
quiet cucumbers make barely a sound.
All of them gather; sliced, cut, skinned and pearled,
as I survey my great edible world.
'Tis another glorious spring and I planted my garden with the expectation,
That I shall reap a bountiful harvest for my table with minimum frustration!
I planted the usual stuff - carrots, radishes, onions and termaters,
Watermelons, peas, corn, beans and a few hills of russet pertaters.
With the Good Lord's help, lots of sun and occasional showers of rain,
The seeds sprang to life along with some curses that are my infernal bane!
I've discovered that I have a healthy crop of weeds that need attention,
And a host of other intrusive visitors that I'll proceed to mention!
I was dismayed to discover legions of caterpillars and mealy bugs,
Pruning my plants along with hordes of ugly snails and slimy slugs!
They're even being attacked from below by gophers and moles,
And from above by crows making diving sorties from the clothesline poles!
'Coons, 'possums and wabbits at raiding my garden are very deft,
And armies of well-disciplined ants are gleaning what is left!
I even caught some nasty little kids filching a watermelon last night!
I chased them but those little dudes took off with the speed of light!
With a storm of wind and hail this morn I saw all my labor disappear!
Come next spring I think I shall opt to sit on the patio and guzzle beer!
Robert L. Hinshaw, CMSgt, USAF, Retired
© All Rights Reserved
Dance, Ladies, dance!—
By the light of lanterns.
Let your red skirts swirl
Like the tops of carousels—
Candy-apple red.
Dance, Children, dance!
With your glowing adornments—
Rainbow blue and green—
Firefly green.
The scent of gardenias
Wafts from urban gardens—
Gardenias and radishes.
The night air breathes magic;
The block has been transformed.
The roll of the waves hides the arcs of their backs.
The shoal of porpoises are feeding on squid.
Feasting amongst them on cephalopod snacks
Are green-scaled dragons that choose to be hid.
They hide from whalers and their brutal harpoons,
While they stay in the ocean for most of life's times,
Except times when they roam the nearby sand dunes
To covet Marsh Radishes and the wild limes.
These dragons don't fly, since they're aquatic sorts.
Like Nessie in Scotland, they wish to be free.
Some people catch a glimpse, and some hear a snort,
But rarely, since mostly they're way out to sea.
Spring is a colorful salad
Roses are her radishes
Marigold her croutons
Lilacs in her dressing, dribbling sweetly
She is tossed in wind storms
Spring is a tasty salad
She uplifts the diners
She delights the songbirds
She nurtures the baby lambs
She brings greenery back to the meadow
Spring is a hearty salad
She feeds our souls
She nurtures our imaginations
She sings her forest songs
She rejuvenates us in the most heart-felt ways
Spring is our dessert salad
Her birds serenade us
Her bunnies show off their fluff
Her squirrels scold us gently
She brings us such enthusiasm and happiness!
Written: May 18, 2019
Contest: Objectifying a Season Poetry Contest
Sponsor: Sheri Fresonke Harper
EASTER DINNER
they liked the one behind me
the teal and black checkerboard
its sparkling tiles on the diagonal
red, yellow, blue, pink pillows
on sofas and chair
the sunrise was unsympathetic
like the cross, but the service
was cozy for Easter Sunday.
remember how it was raining yesterday?
they liked the one behind me
with framed women and palms
i’d have to look over my shoulder
see the eyes of the beholders
steadily for twelve hours plus
prepping the whole affair
can you smell the onions and peppers
the beginnings of love
they liked the one behind me
with the blue and pink sky,
red roses fanned out, ferns,
and modern art on display
stirred the flour, salt,
nearly a dozen eggs
and water, still needed
more water
they liked the one behind me
with the great picture window,
the surf and sail, red and white
striped shell, a book, and
a cocktail with straw
chicken - legs and breast
red and white wine
no deviled eggs - tossed
toadstool radishes
they liked the painting
it drew them in
i liked that they liked it
wonder if they saw
the red parakeet?
even the beach chairs are red
did they spy all the red things
obviously I’ve counted
most everything
that is behind my back
and in front of me
4/9/2023
When all's said and done, there's more to be done and said
Like how's our dear Mary, hope her fungus hasn't spread
And what about poor Thelma
With her deviated antenna
And poor Nikita, fresh radishes growing on her head
Sunshine tulips lined up in fancy row.
Lilac smiled, expecting a big show.
Orange-tainment provided by marigold.
My colorful garden never gets old.
Dainty lacey dark green carrot tops laughed.
Radishes caught tomorrow’s aftermath.
Purple petunias prance along the side.
Queen Anne ’s lace is renegade, better hide!
Yellow summer squash soon joins pretty fray.
Pumpkins wait for a far off autumn day
Garden magic complete by butterflies
Wasp and bees too most of them not so shy.
Roses are happy with show of the day.
Plethora of colors, lovely sense of play.
Written 4-24-2019
Contest: Urban Sonnet
Sponsor: Emile Pinet
Wish I was handsome stead of a physical stud
With a body to die for, I'll let you guys be the judge
Good looks have advantages
But coz I eat many radishes
My complexion's glowing red so I'm switching to fudge
When does Chloris Arrive
The marigolds were a twitter
The tea roses were entranced
The faerie princess doing cartwheels
The lambs ears were brushing sweetly against each other
The brownies rapidly helping the ladybugs get onto their mushrooms
Chloris was to arrive in the afternoon
The sun was ready, waving hello.
The garden radishes were inspiring their carrot friends to grow
Everyone was in a tither, a dithering tizzy.
Yard had not been this excited since the dandelions popped up
The first day of Spring
The Goddess was coming!
There was exuberant joy, as the grasses
and gardens and flowers began their happiness dance.
She has not been seen in Elysian Fields for a whole year!
The Vegetable Garden
The garden beckons in the newness of the morning –
Soft earth giving up the evening chill
As long sunbeams kiss the soil good morning.
Straight lines of carrots with curly tops
Dig deep into the daylight hours
Reaching down to be, at last, raised up.
Radishes and lettuce rows sway in the breath
Of foggy summer dawns leaving
Glistening dew before the sun appears.
Along the fence green pole beans scramble up
On lattice twined with tendrils
Climbing first to glimpse the garden growing.
Hummingbirds and butterflies come each day
To gaze and measure growth unseen
Just the day before.
The season ends with tall tomato plants
Filling harvest baskets with their scarlet bounty
As September bids seeds renew in sleep.
The garden beckons, no longer filled
With radish rows or carrot tops
But promises of newly planted apple trees.
Memory
I am my memory.
This piece of the world, this brief sprouting
Amongst many thinking radishes,
Exists only as resonances within
Lacy neurons; Flanders’ delicate patterns
Sustained by glial skeletons,
Beyond the spider’s web or silent
Snowflake in elegant complexity.
I am memory:
Identity, selfness, the compass of my person,
Shaped by the universe’s unknowingness
Of my reedlike form; yet I know I exist,
And know of my fate,
And of the fate of the universe,
Which is the power of my memory
And humankind’s collective memory.
I am:
And therefore recreated endlessly by my memories which,
Shallow-like, bow to my insecurities
Played out in my mind; ironically,
Feeding my own undermining,
Poignant recall of joy and bittersweet sorrow,
Given force by visceral emotion, shaping “I”
Anew, through endless rehearsal.
I:
Who is: only in relation to you, another,
My child, parent, brother, sister, a lover,
Bosom friend; like me, the sum
Of memories, which we share
And are thus part of each other,
All one, yet separate, connected
Through memory.
The memories of you fade,
Yet do not disappear, and
Give truth to my thoughts
On memory, and my identity;
Me, whom you pursued until
I caught you, and gave
Me memories happy and sad,
That shape me still..
with acknowledgements to
Blaise Pascal, William Shakespeare, Rene Descartes, Eric Kandel, John Locke, the Lace makers of Belgium....and Georgia
If you want to grow up big and strong,
Listen here, you won't go wrong.
If you want to grow, grow, grow,
Choose all the colors from the rainbow.
We never get enough of green--
Here's the kinds of foods I mean:
Grapes, avocados, lettuce, cabbage, green beans, spinach,
lentils, kiwis, honeydew melons,peas, bell peppers...
If you want to grow, grow, grow,
Choose yellow from the rainbow.
bananas, lemons, golden apples, summer squash, butter, yellow peppers, ...
If you want to grow, grow, grow,
Choose orange from the rainbow.
Cheeses, carrots, mangoes, cantaloups, apricots, peaches, pumpkins, oranges...
If you want to grow, grow, grow,
Choose red from the rainbow.
Strawberries, cherries, tomatoes, meats, raspberries,
grapes, watermelons, apples, plums,
red peppers, radishes, beets, ...
If you want to grow, grow, grow,
Choose purple and blue from the rainbow.
Grapes, cabbage, plums, eggplant, blueberries, ...
If you want to grow, grow, grow,
Choose brown from the rainbow.
Meat, potatoes, pears, coconuts, nuts, whole-grain breads ...
If you want to grow, grow, grow,
Choose white from the rainbow.
Eggs, cheese, parsnips, fish, onions, milk, yogurt,
(chorus)
The greater the variety,
The healthier you'll always be.
Meat, eggs and dairies
grains, fruits, and veggies.
To wash them down there's nothing better
Than big glasses of water.
But I remembered posing this possible problem to my son Keith, who is in the oil
business and he said that fossil fuel oils were derived from vegetable origins not animal
fossils.. But he didn't specify if it were like radishes, beets, corn or maybe watermelons.
I do have a lot to learn about oil. And knowing you know how serious I can be
about my writings I guess I had better stop for now and go to the library for more
information. Maybe one day I will be able to give you the answers to the questions I have
posed in my writing today.
By the way our trip to Douglas was to no avail. When we got there it was during
lunch hour and no one was in the office. We went and had our lunch and fiddled around until
about two forty-five. Again our trip out there proved useless. There was a sign in the
window they would be back at four o'clock. It wasn't quite three so we just pulled over under
a tree and waited them out. Or so we though. At four ten they still had not shown up so we
returned to Casper. As I was just writing these last few lines I dawned on me it didn't say if
they meant four AM or four PM. Well next week I my be going alone to see about these
fittings. If so I won't be able to enjoy natures beauty. And ...I hope I don't have any vehicle
problems either.
She's pretty tough for one so small
When things get rough she stands so tall
With a bundle of Love so beautiful
Good things come in small packages
God not her farts they smell like cabbages
Or rotten little darts of poison radishes
For a life so short what she's seen
Been through lows same as me
Even grown her own branch on the family tree
As her peace gets disturbed by a little wailer
The beast who deserves her halo
My sweet little niece I Love You Laila
If you knock her down she'll buckboard bounce
In her way back up she may just pounce
If you fill her heart with Love she'll never renounce
Of all the siblings near or far
You little sister are also a star
Just don't let her near the cookie jar
She's the only little sister I have got
I'm really sorry i'd hit her and often taunt
She's the only little sister I would want!
I don't think I tell you enough Tacey
Though your heads full of "stuff" an your totally crazy
I'm so glad to be bruv, you really amaze me. Xx