Horticultural Adages Designed By Sadistic Schoolmarms
Artichokes stop chasing, when the sunset glows,
Beetroots keep exploring where the seaweed grows
Curly Cale is lost without a grain of salt
Dandelions suffer though it's not their fault
Egg-plant is the antidote to time-worn tears
Fennel, where not planted, invariably appears
Ginseng, so they say, is efficacious when
Hellebore has harmed the health of horse or hen
Ibstokon - though not a plant - gets mentioned just the same
Juniper for ruining poor mothers gets the blame
Kale, which has no season, flourishes all year
Lemons, so I hear, can add a tang to beer
Melons, on the other hand, are nothing if not bland
Nasturtiums soon are spreading, on the orange sand
Okra never troubles with the layman's plate
Pepper, on the other hand, is loaded by the crate
Quinces give their fullest to the bottom row
Radicchio in salad, tied off with a bow
Salad leaves of every kind, crying out for dressing
Tomatillos often get the parson's special blessing
Übergines' ambition, to rule the garden plot
Vidalia onions eaten raw when the weather's hot
Watercress can thrill you, taken unawares
X-tra hot Scotch Bonnets say "bite me if you dare"
Yams and clams in hampers call us to the feast
Zucchini, though, is all we need to feed the hungry beast
Envoi:
A fine consommé, wrought with skill
Will satisfy as naught else will
| Contributors: | Apsley, Beefy, Roland, Grayman, F, Karin, V+R. |
| Poem finished: | 22nd July 2004 by V+R. |