Sometime this week, Molly Hogan posted a picture on Facebook of her carrots. Go there to see her great image of homegrown carrots.
I wrote a Haiku for the carrots in the Comments...
...but one carrot had a split root, and Molly commented back about its "dancing pants"...
And so I could not leave that alone! It was eating at me until I wrote this poem. It wasn't what I'd kind of envisioned. I was thinking a kind of Gingerbread Man scenario. But you can't stop a Carrot Top.
Thanks for the inspiration Molly!
Carrot's Top
The day was cold,
the day was spring
and I had not
a better thing
to do today
but plant a ring
A ring of things
I call some carrots.
The soil was moist
The loam was brown
and there I pictured
carrot crowns
and so I threw
Some seeds around
To fill the needs
of me and rabbits.
Tiny green leaves
An emerald sprout
came up in days
In spite of drought
It would be special
There was no doubt
It was no plant
Of mundane habit.
The sun it shone
And then it waned
I waited there
Until it rained
The time to harvest
Was ordained
I saw orange -
The time to nab it.
I pulled and pulled
Very slowly
Up came the carrot
Soiled and lowly
I looked at it
It struck me drolly…
I never knew
I’d have to grab it!
Two chubby legs
In orange pants
This carrot wore
As if to prance
And that it did
Or was it dance?
In any case
Began the gamut
It did a jig
It made me laugh
It wasn’t tall
By less than half
And then I took
This photograph
Before it jumped
I quickly snapped it.
Down the path and
Up the hilltop
Past a red barn
To the Big Top
Where it came to
Rest at this stop
To ask the way -
A little gambit.
And that is how
And that is when
Carrot said “no”
To julienne
No matter how
The world would yen
There would be corn
But not this carrot.
Yes, carrot learned
The life of clowns
Has many ups
Not so the downs
They traveled far
To many towns
Pulled up its roots
As was its habit.
I miss carrot
I’m forlorn
The loss of orange
I still mourn
But I do enjoy
Some yellow corn
And clover is
Enough for rabbit.
By Donna JT Smith, 9/20/2020
Thanks for visiting! It's Poetry Friday. Go have a heaping helping of poetry by visiting the links at Jone Rush MacCulloch's new blog!
I didn't know you'd posted until you visited me, Donna! Lovely to see you & your poem here! You are the cleverest storyteller & with that rhythm & rhyme, this is a super one! Molly's picture & limerick was fun, too, wasn't it, those dancing pants! And I love "The time to nab it." All the rhymes were great, but that one made me laugh out loud! Happy Weekend!
ReplyDeleteOh my - this poem is utterly entertaining, all the way through - the image of the carrot is so clear and your wordplay a pure delight. Saying "no" to julienne... ! I I do not know why "the loss of orange" grabs me so, but it does. I can so see this poem in an anthology.
ReplyDeleteThis poem is so much fun! I love the idea of the carrot going off to join the circus.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you shared this, Donna. What a treat for that carrot to be immortalized in your poem! (and it was tasty, too! lol) You already know how I love your clever rhyming and word play. I especially enjoy your wit as well--say "no to julienne" made me laugh out loud.
ReplyDeleteWhat a tale, Donna! You really do have a good imagination.
ReplyDeleteI'm laughing out loud! You took those carrot pants and ran with it...literally!
ReplyDeleteHow fun it must be to live inside your imagination, Donna! At the very least, a welcome escape from everything else, I'm sure.
ReplyDeleteLove this. You made me chuckle. I love how carrots sometimes have a mind of their own the way they grow.
ReplyDeleteLOVE this, Donna. Especially these lines:
ReplyDeleteTwo chubby legs
In orange pants
This carrot wore
As if to prance
And that it did
Or was it dance?
What a fun, uplifting poem.