“I feel my failure intensely
as if it were a vital organ”
~ Harrison
from Vows
A farmer ought to know
seed time and harvest
good crop from bad
A farmer also ought to fathom
7 years of plenty
from
7 years of famine
So when pestilence arrives
and the harvest fails
and the crop turn to rot
and the straw man pales
Then the sleepless nights
begin to fill ashtrays
and vital organs fill with pain
I never trained to be a farmer
-I just planted the seeds I thought
looked best
©Vivian Zems
In response to Jilly’s 28 Days of Unreason Poetry– Day 3
June 3, 2018 at 11:51 pm
Love the movement that comes with your structure and those perfectly chosen end-words. Very strong language. Impressive!
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June 4, 2018 at 12:24 am
Thanks, Jilly!
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June 4, 2018 at 12:18 am
another well written piece, on a great perspective.
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June 4, 2018 at 12:35 am
Thank you 🙂
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June 4, 2018 at 1:05 am
Indeed, planting the seeds that LOOK best seems a wise move to me! (I’m not a farmer either, but there IS joy in the planting & seeing new life.)
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June 4, 2018 at 1:10 am
That’s encouraging…. thank you!☺️
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June 4, 2018 at 1:44 am
kaykuala
I just planted the seeds
I thought looked best
Non-green fingers would just be wasting lots of resources. The passion to succeed will determine the seriousness of efforts and not otherwise!
Hank
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June 4, 2018 at 4:50 pm
Wise words , Hank☺️
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June 4, 2018 at 2:12 am
I love this outlook. LOVE planting seeds that look best….that’s how I choose my annual planta at the nursery – whichever ones speak to me and ask to come home.
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June 4, 2018 at 4:50 pm
Thanks Sherry!
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June 4, 2018 at 2:27 am
This must happen a lot in large counties like the US or Australia when visiting a far off state you are enamoured with a flower that grows there only the find the one you buy back home fails miserably because you don’t provide the right soil or conditions for it. So yes, I’ve been there too!
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June 4, 2018 at 4:49 pm
I’m glad I’m not the only one!
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June 4, 2018 at 2:38 am
So true, plant the seeds that you think would look best in the garden as in life, and watch them grow. Nothing is a failure when you’ve put much effort in it. Lovely write. Great metaphor.
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June 4, 2018 at 4:48 pm
Thank you ☺️
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June 4, 2018 at 12:33 pm
Terrific ending!
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June 4, 2018 at 4:48 pm
Thank you!
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June 4, 2018 at 1:29 pm
Lovely, thoughtful poem, Vivian.
No one can really prepare for the future. Planting the seeds you think look the best is as good a strategy as any.
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June 4, 2018 at 4:47 pm
Indeed, it is
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June 4, 2018 at 2:05 pm
I like how you begin with such a wide sweep, continents and ages, but you hone it down to a handful of seeds that will grow pretty flowers.
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June 4, 2018 at 4:46 pm
Thank you Jane
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June 4, 2018 at 5:15 pm
🙂
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June 4, 2018 at 3:16 pm
Lovely poem. Planting those metaphorical seeds that look best is a wonderful way to live.
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June 4, 2018 at 4:46 pm
Thanks! I couldn’t agree more 🙂
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June 4, 2018 at 4:47 pm
Thanks Randall!
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June 5, 2018 at 11:19 am
Very wise Vivian. Your close is how we are.
Anna :o]
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June 5, 2018 at 6:55 pm
Thanks Anna!
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June 5, 2018 at 11:44 am
There’s something noble about planting seeds, even if you’re not sure what will happen to them when they sprout, and even if you’re not sure you know how to tend them when they do.
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June 5, 2018 at 6:54 pm
I quite agree!
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June 6, 2018 at 3:32 pm
Tough being a farmer, for sure.
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June 6, 2018 at 6:32 pm
For sure!
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June 10, 2018 at 2:17 am
I’ve missed reading your work.This is excellent! Trying to catch up.
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