Saturday August 28th, 2010

The exercise:

A four line poem about: the orchard.

We sold a lot of tomatoes this morning, but not all of them. So we'll be freezing a lot of them tomorrow for use in the winter months, along with some peppers that were also left over. If we're feeling particularly ambitious we'll even do up some pickling cukes.

So much for our day off... but I suppose you don't really need too much time off when you're doing what you love.

Mine:

So much sacrificed fruit dots the ground -
When they tumbled did they make a sound?
The air is bereft of bees humming;
The apple harvest must be coming.

4 comments:

Samantha said...

Good luck with your preserving. My mom had a lot of extra tomatoes, this year, too, so she just gave them away. She still doesn't know how to can them yet.

Sorry it's been so long since I've been able to share. I've just started working and school.

\\

Sweet citrus overwhelms our senses
As we weave among the trunks,
Our bare feet squishing on mud and grapefruit.
Orange kisses stolen in the night.

Greg said...

@Sandra: your poem is very evocative, I can almost feel the overripe grapefruit under my feet!

@Marc: spending a day off preserving tomatoes sounds... quite a lot like what I do on my days off! On Friday I made dumpling skins and beef-and-scallion filling to make Gyoza; Saturday I made English muffins to use as buns for beefburgers made from the left-over Gyoza filling; Tuesday (which I have off) I'll be making a cherry cake for Mark to take into work with him... and it's not work at all, it's fun!
I like your poem, but the third line throws me a little. In my experience, windfalls attract wasps, so surely there'd still be humming in the air?

The orchard

Long, regular rows,
As stately as any classical colonnade,
Dedicated to Aflach,
The Brythonic God and Orchard Lord.

Zhongming said...

Amazing, all of you :)

Mine:

Green, white and brown,
Cotton boils filled the ground.
Soft fluffy fiber under my feet,
Picking cotton back to my ship.

Marc said...

Samantha - thanks, and no worries at all. We all get busy, I'm just glad you made it back :)

That's a lovely poem you pieced together, with so much atmosphere! Great job.

Greg - I think I will have to come for a visit just to taste your cooking.

And... yeah, that was definitely a tired poem. I didn't really care for that line either, but I couldn't be bothered to think about it anymore.

Also: unless you know something I don't, you probably shouldn't be calling Samantha Sandra. :P

Zhongming - some great images in there. I particularly liked your third line.