An avocado is not a vegetable,
botanically, it's classified as a fruit,
specifically, a large single-seeded berry,
although it's a fact you may wish to dispute,
your opinion is neither here nor there
as, take it or leave it,
it's what's known as a 'pear'.
And yet, should everything go pear-shaped,
don't blame the avo, it's not at fault,
for, whichever way you slice it,
it still tastes good with pepper and salt.
In addition to indigenous peoples
of the Americas known as Native Americans
the country of U.S.A. is populated
by those from far away other lands
but now there are many in the U.S.
living illegally on borrowed time
as the Governement wants to deport them all
for an untried unproven crime
and if they do so then who will pick
all the fruit and vegetable crops
when they are gone back to where they're from
as that's where the dollar stops
A vegetable, when it is hot,
is called a pepper, is it not?
And we must remember,
a cool one's a cucumber.
vegetable hag came by her name and occupation naturally
She grows vegetables in gardens, I think she has twenty-three
her carrots are enormous, her radishes amazingly red
She will be hoeing and growing every year until she is dead
We tried to help her in the garden, but she chased us away
You just want to steal my produce, she screamed at my cousin Gray
I will never offer to help her again, he said. She is a mean old hag.
I was glad we got chased off, taking care of a garden can be a drag.
My mother buys vegetable hag’s produce on corner across the street.
She took her a cupcake, and vegetable hag said “oh, my, what a treat!”
her turnips are round and ripe. and her lettuce is crispy and green.
She is not only a vegetable hag, she is the vegetable queen.
If a conflicted carrot
based on its looks
could feel it's a parsnip
it would be a turnip for the books
and should confused chard
on corn do a number
lettuce hope the offspring
isn't a baby cucumber
some plants are quite confounded
in my garden bed
sadly the rhubarb is convinced
it's celery badly sun-burned red
You grew up in the dark and distant loam
and were packed in a produce truck to roam,
but you've naught to fear
of my knife my dear -
vegetable, my stomach's your new home.
Vegetable Peelers
There should be schools, colleges, and
universities for
vegetable peelers who can
read and
write well.
carved jack-o-lanterns
a sentinel of pumpkins
vegetable gargoyles
an ebony cat
a marble gravestone scratchpad
feline familiar
wolves howl at the moon
bat wings whisper in the dark
creatures of the night
monsters in costume
banging on neighborhood doors
shouts of trick-or-treat
Halloween conjures the dead,
fueling feelings of dread.
New Yam
Death brings life
New, tender and green
Earth brown, immaculate white
The priest heralds her coming
The town crier drums it
The farmer dances to the market
It's time to celebrate
Let loose the masquerades
Celestial visitors from yonder
Let the melody of the odó
Echo the birth of the new yam
Like the birth of a newborn
The drums are rolled out
The market is flooded
With news of its coming
The homestead salivates
The streets jubilate
Vegetables will bleed today
The fattened cock will crow no more
The slumber of the pestle is over
For what is in the yam that the knife doesn't know
The noise of pounding
Will keep the neighbours awake
Iyán funfun báláwú is on the menu today
From: Echoes from the Savannah © Makinde Adebayo Adeniyi, 2024
Fruity red pepper
burns with the fire of dragons~
Coming and going
Tangy, sweet, or “just right”
Ohs and ahs of sheer delight
Makes mouths water at the sight
Attacks the tongue with spirit bright
Takes a palate to heaven's height
Olfactory senses come alight
Essentially stirs the appetite
Savor the flavor in each bite
I lined up the vegetable crazies onto a dinner plate.
They stuck out their tongues, their tummies were great.
With scrunched up faces, I wondered if they knew their fate.
Eight gnarled up turnips lying on a flat dinner plate.
Vegetables spell out
alphabet from a to z
h -healthy eating
my little garden
planted seeds of vegetables
blessing them to grow
Planning them richly
The seeds that I gleaned blossoms
Flourishing parting
Sprouting green colors
Leafy green vegetables
planted I water
life beams sprouting Earth
Standing tall blossoming forth
vegetated girt
so seeded planted
The seeds that I gleaned blossoms
vegetable garden
6/28/23
written words by James Edward Lee Sr © 2023
Celebrity Carrots shook hands with onlookers
Barrel-chested Beets beat their chests like bass drums
Soft-spoken Celery Sticks whispered soliloquies
Mild-mannered Mushrooms spun themselves silly
At the Vegetable Pride Parade
Not even legumes left behind
Rootin'-tootin' Green Beans
~ by blaring trumpets designed
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