April 8, 2009

Vegetable Apocalypse

In the last days
there will be no
fruit or vegetable
only hard, weather-worthy
wheat and nuts.

The barley and tobacco
will still grow, but the corn
and tomatoes will fall
and un-twist. The
carrots and beets will
uproot themselves from
the drying earth.
The orchards will sway and
break like our fathers.
The gardens will crawl
and burn like our mothers
and our tables will be set
with chestnuts and bread
and we will eat our
colorless meals in silence.

In the last days
I will not hold
your hand and
I will not regret
your death, but
for the small cherries
of your cheeks, the
smooth squash of your
arms, the ripe
cantaloupe of your
head and the harvest
that will rot, a
broken cornucopia
beneath the dry
and unforgiving earth.