[Critique Group 2] Leonard's poem for June

[tuchyner5 at aol.com]

6 2 20   Cabbage Toil

 

Cabbages are a surprising species.

Their leaf spread can be three feet or more.

>From these outer leaves you can make kimchi.

 

Getting them to grow takes toil in the soil.

They prefer fertile dirt with lots of loam.

They’re best when planted early in the year 

when gardeners dare not sow other plants 

for fear of loss owing to a late frost.

Cabbages love cold, wet, dank weather,

before their dreaded enemy appears.

 

Did you ever encounter cabbage worms?

There not very pretty to see.

They enter the scene when weather is warm,

after the time when heads start to grow.

They can be picked off and squashed to slime,

but it’s difficult to get them all.

They hide untouched at the base of the ball 

where they cannot be detected at all.

The worms about and inch-and-a-half long,

not a savory thing to behold.

They turn the cabbage to a gooey mess.

 

If lucky, you will harvest on time,

before they succeed in eating their fill.

The cabbage still has some tricks up its sleeve

The ball seems to develop overnight

and may be harvested by late May,

while the cabbage is still mostly there.

 

To pluck it is not an easy mission.

The outer leaves must first be torn away,

so one can use their leverage to twist.

If ever you’ve pulled a man from his head,

who is not in the mood for losing his top,

you have the awkward procedure down pat

So satisfying when finally done,

to feel the ball now loose in your hands.

After a series of crunching sounds,

a lovely, luscious five-pound cabbage.

 

 
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