Friday Poetry Blogging

Winter Promises

Tomatoes rosy as perfect baby's buttocks,
eggplants glossy as waxed fenders,
purple neon flawless glistening
peppers, pole beans fecund and fast
growing as Jack's Viagra-sped stalk,
big as truck tire zinnias that mildew
will never wilt, roses weighing down
a bush never touched by black spot,
brave little fruit trees shouldering up
their spotless ornaments of glass fruit:

I lie on the couch under a blanket
of seed catalogs ordering far
too much. Sleet slides down
the windows, a wind edged
with ice knifes through every crack.
Lie to me, sweet garden-mongers:
I want to believe every promise,
to trust in five pound tomatoes
and dahlias brighter than the sun
that was eaten by frost last week. -- Marge Piercy

For those of you who enjoy fantasizing over garden catalogs, check out Garden Bazaar . And if you're an heirloom-variety/OP vegetable geek, look over at my blogroll and check out Bountiful Gardens. The catalog is black and white, but it's loaded with all sorts of wild and wonderful heirloom veggie varieties. I can also vouch for their excellent customer service. Happy garden dreams!