I made a plan to plant cherry tomato plants
in hanging baskets on my balcony
to keep them away from those pesky squirrels,
it worked, except I have been waiting all summer
for at least one tiny tomato to ripen . . .
then, suddenly, the branches are dripping in red.
I have a resilient tomato plant from Iowa.
She gave me tomatoes from May until November twentieth.
That is over half a year of tomatoes.
I had never had a tomato plant like this one.
If I had artificial sunlight
I would dig her up
And stick her in a pot
And keep her in the house.
Getting tomatoes off her all year long.
Does anyone know how to get artificial sunlight?
I’ve been thinking about an old saying that my mother was so fond of. “You’ll reap what you sow.” Now back when I was an itty-bitty tyke, I always wondered why she would say such an obvious thing. I mean, what would you expect? If you planted a tomato plant, you sure as shootin’ ain’t going to get apples. Duh!!! Old people can be pretty silly sometimes. But as I was cruising through my Facebook life today, I understood what she meant. Now, there isn’t much I can do about other folks who seem to live for the sole purpose of spreading hate or discontent, but I can do something about me. So, like the great agent Gibbs would do, I too have created a set of rules to guide me through the maze of posts and comments of social media.
Rule 1---If it ain’t got my name in it then it’s none of my business.
Life moves by too fast
to have any time to waste—
spreading discontent
Ode to a Tomato Plant
You are the green miracle of the earth, the tender stem that holds the red fruit of life.
You are the generous gift of the sun, the warm ray that nourishes the sweet pulp of love.
You are the humble servant of the table, the fresh salad that accompanies the bread of hunger.
You are the silent witness of the seasons, the faithful cycle that renews the seed of hope.
You are the tomato plant, the simple beauty that fills the world with color and flavor.
Serendipity Love
Love is never lost like a snowflake on an LA freeway
Or a teardrop in a sea of sand.
Love pops up like a tomato plant on an offramp
Or daisies in sidewalk cracks.
10-2-21
Contest: Bite Size Poem No. 22
Sponsor: Line Gauthier
Based on two true experiences - the tomato plant and the daisies
Swaying in the breeze
a tomato plant, stands
Around the plant,
smile the rose plants
Buds developed on both
soon the flowers bloomed
Dazzling yellow rose
unfurled the fragrance
engrossed bees and flies
twined its stem
to greet its friend
branch shaken friendly
with the cute little
yellow tomato flower
that wedged tiny umbrella within.
Unrolling secrets through air
both vented gleefully
Then the gardner's little girl
arrived, exclaimed at the flowers.
She nudged the yellow roses,
inhaled its aroma,
kissed the petals
took selfie with it.
Unlike the yellow rose,
the tomato flower went unnoticed
Yellow rose felt bad,
could feel her friend's mind
" Ain't I beautiful", tomato flower asked
"You are! my friend" rose consoled
" When I start wilting, they will hate me
but when you start wilting, they would dance
coz then you will turn into tomato,
after all they are the silly humans" concluded the rose...
we've all done it
or we used to do it
nowadays we can feign
sending messages
in touch-and-go back streets
in dodgy areas at night
in the office to appear
being busy
to avoid babbling
with a colleague
to avoid a bothersome
old lady at the bus stop
bell didn't invent the
gossipy horn
he jibber-jabbered
with the mutt
which is another
prop you could
pretend to be
chewing the fat with
talk with a stuffed animal
talk with a photo
talk with a tomato plant
talk with the mirror
sweden had their
own phone number
so you could pretend
to be talking to them
Satan wants my leg
The right one
He's been trying
for years
First when as a child
in Gonja Hospital
Butt injection smack
in sciatic nerve
The pain - oh my god
flexed my knee
Dr. Lubia with a board
straightened it
Then an excited preteen
on class excursion
Tomato plant in Pwalugu
leg in drain gutter
The osteo that mom treated
with prayers & tears
Anyamu the medicine man
with boiling herbs
Today the herniated disc
pain - oh my god
The drop foot and more
L4-L5 L3-L4
Satan wants my right leg
he wont get it
Try as hard as he can
I'll still keep it
TOMATO CHASE
Now....
Out of season
They're reddish
Uniform in size & shape
Firm
And flavorless
In season
They're RED
All sizes and shapes
Firm, soft, some just right
And flavorful
Yesteryears
They were magic
Like the transformation of a caterpiller
The little yellow flower
Gives way to the tiny green marble
Stalk n stems grow bigger
Marbles grow larger
The green fuzzy rough stems
The scent
That wonderful smell
So unique to the tomato plant
They turn green to red
Some even get incubated on a sunny sill
When it's time
Knife reveals seeds and red splotched juice
And the TASTE
A taste that fades with our age
That TASTE that we chase every summer
Close
But never a ringer
I’ve a garden full of uninvited guests; time to weed.
Tobacco worm, on my tomato plant, don’t spit at me;
you were not invited to partake of my produce!
Mr. Milkweed, why do you love my yard? Your sticky secretions make me itch; I do not want you in my cabbage.
Mr. Beetle, I gave no permission for your party; your rowdy friends must go. They won’t allow my beans to grow.
Ms. Wood betony, you may stay; your nutty flavor and fresh dandelion leaves, will enhance my garden salad. It was nice of you to drop by for lunch.
Ah, a lovely dog rose; how did you know that other uninvited guests,
were giving me a headache? I’ll harvest your medicinal berries to cure it.
You too, may stay; oh, how I love rose hip tea.
With uninvited guests, you can’t be too careful or too picky. Some are good, others bad; but I will not…be spat at, without retaliation!
Here, Mr. Coopers hawk, have a tobacco worm and leave those bunnies alone! I plant extra lettuce and carrots for them.
Late August and the hot air drifts over the lake
the sky glowers striking a contrast black to gray
soon, very soon, the lake with be thundered awake
and the heat mirage with dissolve in disarray.
The last of children's giggles will echo ghostly
through the woods at water's edge mixed with sparrow song.
Pink skinned lovers chilled will be but a memory
and their cuddling brought indoors where it belongs
The garden's done, each tomato plant has yielded
scorched by the heat, fields and forest long for Autumn,
praise the heat of summer for it raised the corn fields,
raise a glass from the yield of the apple and the plum.
Say goodbye to August with a gentle kiss on the breeze
for the wild geese are flying, flying through the changing trees.
8/30/13
Solanum
Dangerous and beautiful,
tasty and deadly,
nature’s guessing games...
When I was a child
my mother told me that
her parents and other wise adults
warned her never to eat tomatoes.
After all, it was well known
that all parts of the tomato plant,
especially the ripe red fruit
so loved by birds and horn worms,
were deadly poison.
Genetic bits bind
the natural world together,
we *****Sapiens distantly to
the genus Solanum,
including that tomato I mentioned,
flourishing perhaps in your garden,
dying in mine,
flattened by hail and record rains.
Eventually some brave soul,
forgotten to history,
bit into one,
juice dribbled past her smiling lips
and down her chin;
she survived.
Antediluvian genetics...
Might it be possible
that the primordial soup
imparted a tiny drop or two
of Solanum juice to us humans?
After all, we are
beauty and danger,
juiciness,
compassion
narcissism,
light and the darkness,
joy, anger, and grief
in varying measure.
If so, the tomato prevails.
The rule then is:
eat the fruit and all is well.
Eat the greens
in an otherwise lovely salad
and be dead before dessert.
Clear sand colored sunrise
Against gray sky blue skies
What can I learn from this
Green trees are just black shilouettes
Each species a different shape
They just stand and feed
From the nutrients provided
Drawing carbon dioxide and release
Oxygen on which all animals depend
These trees don't struggle, cry
They just abide in place
Different from one another
But stand close each receiving
What they need from the earth
And from the air
It is pleasantly cool today
Air is crisp dry and just
Barely moving
Days like this are glorious
Hear crows, roosters, dogs
And man made equipment
Breathe deeply of the oxygenated air
Thanks for this time
Maximilianii sunflowers are in full bloom
Over night they opened
What a surprise
They are just beautiful against
The sand colored sunrise
There are five tomatoes turning
On the topsy turvy tomato plant
The cats come to join me
They want my attention
Just a pat or two will do
They want to be fed
Responsibility calls so I must go
Thank you God for the quiet time alone with you