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Their huge tropical leaves fan out
like elephant ears
limbs reaching far beyond
what I had imagined
Thrusting their way into my life
they multiply at will
it's useless to cut them back
They're unruly, non-conforming
stretching into new found places
pushing against and dangling off fences
hiding beneath their own entanglement
their nomadic wildness uncontainable
The free-wheeling spirit
of the Kabocha squash
are the gypsies of the garden
Besides loving the taste
I'm hooked on the fearless chaos
and aggressive nature of this plant
saving the plumpest seeds for next year
© by Shirley Radcliff Bruton.
Used with the author's permission.
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Shirley Radcliff Bruton (1944 - 2022), a former dancer and performance artist, said her interest in poetry arrived "circuitously"-- first showing up in some of her performance art pieces, then as parts of a script revealing moods, intentions and emotions. "I didn’t know they were poems then," she admitted, acknowledging that she came to appreciate her writing "as a kind of investigation that offers greater insight into life and who I am in it." Shirley lived in New York for many years, then moved to a rural area on California's central coast.
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Lori Levy:
Great portrayal of these "gypsies."
Posted 09/02/2021 08:42 PM
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CamilleBalla:
This is delightful to be able to see these or any other nonconforming stretching plants as Gypsies of the garden. Thanks, Shirley! And Jayne, too!
Posted 09/02/2021 10:49 AM
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Larry Schug:
Good point, Rob. It takes a poet, sometimes, to change our way of seeing. Good work, Shirley.
Posted 09/02/2021 07:20 AM
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Rob:
Never thought I'd look at a squash plant for advice on how to live, but, thanks to your poem, I will from now on! :)
Posted 09/02/2021 05:49 AM
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