I called the bitter gourd plant
My queen that day
When magically
She peeped
From the soft soil
Of my minuscule garden
Surprise! Surprise!
How could I welcome the queen?
I ensured
Sunshine
Water
Wooden staff
For her to climb joyfully
A few bees
Some sunbirds
For her companionship
With all the buzzing and twittering
She thrived
Her emerald yields
I shared with my neighbors too
If I only knew
She was susceptible
To so many insects and pests
And the attacks could be averted
By only wrapping up the fruits
With newspapers
When they’re a few centimeters long
An untimely death could be averted
She did need more care
Posted for Susan’s Midweek Motif ~ Organic @ Poets United
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o-oh… and I just love bittergourd subzi…
The trouble is all the other creatures in the garden don’t understand ownership as they probably think you are the intruder.
ooooooOOOO! I love your new design! And then the poem: To me the ending was such a surprise! The growth of the Queen so beautifully tended, so tendered and tall and productive, should not have ended so! I wish we could know before what hindsight teaches so well. I wish we could keep all that’s good in our lives. Oh, I grieve with you for what we have not been able to do in tending our personal gardens. Stewardship is a great joy and sorrow and everything in between.
We all need as much care as we can get, fruits and people alike!
They certainly need love and tender care with so many challenges to fight against. Wonderful lines Sumana!
Hank
I was awed by the twist at the end 🙂
Beautifully penned.
Lots of love,
Sanaa
My husband, the gardener, can so much relate to your poem. He’s outside now, trying to protect his organic babies. But, the rabbits and birds just love what he plants and can’t wait til there’s any fruit. He struggles between feeding the animals and feeding us.
(I like how you designed your blog. Nice.)
Ah, we learn these things through trial and error. She is very beautiful in the photo, and I love the new look of your blog.
That is a fine way to welcome a Queen – and even queen’s follow the cycle of life however much we care for them 🙂
Ah, home-grown vegetables are a source of pride, a thing of beauty, and beyond-description delicious. Try again….your garden will be full of these emerald jewels! 🙂
A wonderful poem with metaphorical significance. Very lovely.
so fresh both your thought and bitter guard
I like the picture perfect verse!
I understand your attachment to your bitter gourd plant and your sadness when it did not thrive as well as you had wished. I have experienced the same with different plants…last year some tomatoes. We really do get attached to living things, don’t we? And mourn when things go wrong and we feel so helpless then.
I love the way the life of the gourd is cherished here. beautiful.
So true we watch, tend and baby those plants. The deer like to eat what I grow even when I put the netting that is supposed to deter them.
Lovely reflection
The proud parent?
A twist in the tail!!
I am reminded of Exupéry’s “Little Prince”, Sumana. We must suffer a few caterpillars if we wish to enjoy butterflies. They are all part of the greater scheme of things. Luscious verse!
PS: I too, like the simplicity and cleanness of your new look blog theme!