A Family Grown

“Do you love me?”
Yes I do …
“Are you my father?”
Yes, I am …
“Who is my mother?”
Hard to say … there is a bit of inbreeding
“What?”
There are your brothers and sisters in you …
“How does that happen?”
I helped it happen …
[Raised leaf-brow] “So how was I conceived?”
Sort of artificial insemination
“Huh?”
I collected you at harvest — planted you at spring
“Did I feel anything”
You were sleeping, waiting …
“Do I look like my Mom?”
Yes — you have her leaves
“Will I grow up tall?”
Yes — but your height is determinate
“What?”
You’ll get bushy …
“Will I have children one day?”
Yes, many small ones
“Will you care for them?”
Yes — I will pick each one
“Will you nourish me?”
Yes, I will … I promise
“Will I die?”
I will consume you …
“Will my children return?”
Yes — I will choose a Mother from you
“I will give birth to a Mother?”
Yes — she will be of your fruit
“Will you love her?”
Yes, I will ….
“Dad.”

∞

Submitted as part of “National/Global Poetry Writing Month” (#NaPoWriMo #GloPoWriMo).

Today’s prompt:  Day Twenty:  “Today, I’d like to challenge you to write a poem that anthropomorphizes a kind of food. It could be a favorite food of yours, or maybe one you feel conflicted about. I feel conflicted about Black Forest Cake, for example. It always looks so pretty in a bakery window, and I want to like the combination of cherries and chocolate . . . but I don’t. But how does the cake feel about it?”

30 Poems in 30 Days

All text and photography © Dale Schierbeck

…. more of my original Poetry on EatsWritesShoots here.