Keep scrolling for a short poem to start us off.
I never thought I’d be the kind of person to fantasize about having my own (modest) garden, but as it turns out, moving to Ohio will do that to you. Being surrounded, come spring and well into the fall, by the bounty of the land, by the freshness of seasonal produce, is nothing short of magical.
I’m no farm girl, but I’ve come to believe these things make living a little lighter––to taste the sweetest strawberries, pick the ripest blueberries, and taste the reddest of tomatoes. Not to mention the cornfields that stretch for miles, slowly filling in that flat, midwestern landscape, as the summer days fall off the calendar.
Although I can’t exactly harvest my own produce yet (#apartmentliving), this poetry series is my attempt at growing a garden using words. I thought it would be a fun experiment to write poetry centered around summer’s fruits and veggies, and my poet friend,
, has kindly agreed to go on this creative journey with me. I know we’re going to have a blast stretching our imaginations and finding unique ways to include produce into our pieces.So, how will the series work?
and I will share a new poem every Friday via our own Substacks, each on a different seasonal fruit or vegetable. The series will end the last week of August.The calendar is as follows:
Blueberries or Raspberries (Friday, July 19th)
Tomatoes (Friday, July 26th)
Mangos or Peaches (Friday, August 2nd)
Corn (Friday, August 9th)
Watermelon (Friday, August 16th)
Summer Squash (Friday, August 23rd)
Cucumber or Beets (Friday, August 30th)
We’re sharing in hopes you decide to join us in growing your very own delicious garden this summer. After all, poetry is food for the soul!
Keep scrolling for a short poem to start us off.
Summer Produce Freshly picked blueberries are a delicacy worthy of a heavenly feast and strawberry jam from the farm makes mana oh so sweet like peaches by the truckload from Georgia and all the way in California the avocados ripen dancing in summer salads then homegrown tomatoes join the ballad while figs turn purple slowly filling up with honeyed flavor but, even if the fig tree should not blossom and the strawberry patch were to yield no jam even if peaches and avocados rotted and there were no tomatoes on the vine, nor blueberries on the bush surely, even then, I would taste and see that the Lord is good. - r.e.g.
I'm SO excited for this and grateful for your creativity Rosa! Also, funny enough, this is one of my favorite poems of yours you've written
"but, even if
the fig tree should not blossom
and the strawberry patch
were to yield no jam"
so evocative and vivid and the way it ENDS, ahhhh
❤️❤️