Potatoes interruptus

[Leaf]

They languish here, without their mother plant;
she lies upon the rotting compost heap
beside two tiny siblings and an aunt,
all seeping slowly into endless sleep.
The earthy life had been so glorious,
the warmth and wet within the sweet-scent soil;
first lonely, they became uproarious
once they had swelled enough to rock and roil
and prod each other’s skins – brr-ush, rrr-ub –
while penetrating with their outstretched eyes
and shuddering inside the close-fit hub
again again again... and then, surprise:
a sudden brightness, cutting, scrubbing, weak
and withering. A kettle boils. A shriek.

[Leaf]

I hope it's okay to use Imgur and embed; the photo's by my mother

[jisbell00]

Hi Fliss,

Splendid stuff! Your rhymes are worth the price of admission, and I especially like the first quatrain, which sets up your premise so beautifully. Also, the potatoes are a sight to see - my goodness! How exuberant. Or should that be extuberant?

Cheers,
John

[Macavity]

Tremendous Fliss, full of life...and death! The parallels with so much human demise, but I felt for those potatoes too. I think I prefer seeping slowly into endless sleep, even if it is on the rejection compost heap, to being boiled! earthy life that made me smile, darkly comic (the kind of element Snakeskin's editor enjoys). As John says Your rhymes are worth the price of admission. Great use of roil. I found empathy with those potatoes

best

Phil

ps love the photo!

ps Eye opener on potato procreation (great title)...quite an orgy

[Leaf]

Hi Fliss,

Splendid stuff! Your rhymes are worth the price of admission, and I especially like the first quatrain, which sets up your premise so beautifully. Also, the potatoes are a sight to see - my goodness! How exuberant. Or should that be extuberant?

Cheers,
John

Hi John,

Thank you! Yes, a little r 'n' r here. I'm pleased you like the first quatrain; I actually did a little research and learned a few things about growing potatoes!

I'm glad you like the visuals too. Yes, most exuberant or extuberant, lol. My parents have been growing their own fruits and veggies for as long as I can remember. When Mrs T sent the photo, she said it was 'an advertisement for home-grown potatoes'

Best wishes,
Fliss

[Leaf]

Tremendous Fliss, full of life...and death! The parallels with so much human demise, but I felt for those potatoes too. I think I prefer seeping slowly into endless sleep, even if it is on the rejection compost heap, to being boiled! earthy life that made me smile, darkly comic (the kind of element Snakeskin's editor enjoys). As John says Your rhymes are worth the price of admission. Great use of roil. I found empathy with those potatoes

best

Phil

ps love the photo!

ps Eye opener on potato procreation (great title)...quite an orgy

Yay! Thanks, Phil MacPhil. I'm glad you felt for the potatoes. Yes, given the choice, the gradual decay could be preferable to the boiling.

It's interesting you mention Snakeskin; for a while I've had an inkling my luck has run out there, but perhaps this has legs, so to speak. I really need to get into 'simultaneous submissions', as I think they're called? I'm pleased you share John's appreciation of the rhymes and 'roil' especially. It's always good when a reader finds empathy, especially with vegetables of any description! Glad you love the photo and are now acquainted with what those spuds get up to underground

Best wishes,
Fliss

[jisbell00]

Hi Fliss,

Legs indeed! it certainly has eyes.

I enjoyed your comments. Yes, gradual decay may be preferable to boiling. As Beckett says in "Dante and the Lobster," when the aunt says the death in hot water is quick: "It is not."

CHeers,
John

[Macavity]

It's always good when a reader finds empathy, especially with vegetables of any description!

[ray miller]

Love the rhymes and alliteration. Rock and roil is great. And a fine ending. You must know that the editor of Snakeskin is a Mr Simmers. With a name like that he's bound to accept this.

[Leaf]

Hi Fliss,

Legs indeed! it certainly has eyes.

I enjoyed your comments. Yes, gradual decay may be preferable to boiling. As Beckett says in "Dante and the Lobster," when the aunt says the death in hot water is quick: "It is not."

CHeers,
John

Hi John,

Yes, eyes aplenty. Thanks for enjoying the comments! Any mention of lobster takes me to The Simpsons, a disturbing episode in which Homer befriends one and ends up eating it, crying and drooling at the same time. I think he'd called it 'Pinchy'. Ah yes, here it is,


Bw,
Fliss

[Leaf]

It's always good when a reader finds empathy, especially with vegetables of any description!

We could call it 'vegempathy', Phil

[Leaf]

Love the rhymes and alliteration. Rock and roil is great. And a fine ending. You must know that the editor of Snakeskin is a Mr Simmers. With a name like that he's bound to accept this.

Thanks, Ray! Glad you find things to appreciate here. Yes, I know Mr Simmers, lol. I saw your comment earlier and I decided to send the poem, why not. It's being considered for June, fingers crossed! I sent the photo too, which was appreciated

[jisbell00]

Hi FLiss,

Well done on submitting!

That is a creepy Simpsons episode. My brother had two cats for years named Poky and Pointy, named by his 7-year-old.

"Dante and the Lobster" is a great story, from More Pricks than Kicks. Belacqua picks up a lobster for dinner at his aunt's to begin, and is surprised to discover it's alive. It's in a paper bag. Then, his day goes by. Lobster does this and that. In the evening, he comes to his aunt's, presents her the lobster and is horrified to see the pot of boiling water on the stove. She explains, "Tis a quick death, anyway, God rest his soul." That's the second last sentence in the story. Then we get the last, three-word sentence: "It is not."

Cheers,
John

[Lia]

That's a couple of curious looking potatoes. They remind me of Phil's mandrake root or voodoo dolls.

Very nice rhyme here, Fliss. I particularly liked,

"all seeping slowly into endless sleep."

and the next,

"The earthy life had been so glorious,"

Much enjoyed.

Lia

[Leaf]

Hi FLiss,

Well done on submitting!

That is a creepy Simpsons episode. My brother had two cats for years named Poky and Pointy, named by his 7-year-old.

"Dante and the Lobster" is a great story, from More Pricks than Kicks. Belacqua picks up a lobster for dinner at his aunt's to begin, and is surprised to discover it's alive. It's in a paper bag. Then, his day goes by. Lobster does this and that. In the evening, he comes to his aunt's, presents her the lobster and is horrified to see the pot of boiling water on the stove. She explains, "Tis a quick death, anyway, God rest his soul." That's the second last sentence in the story. Then we get the last, three-word sentence: "It is not."

Cheers,
John

Hi John,

Thank you! Well, we have to try. It is indeed a creepy episode; I hope nothing similar happened to your brother's cats

Thanks for the info re. 'Dante and the Lobster'. I wouldn't expect a quick death from boiling at all; wasn't it used as a torture method in Tudor times? I'm sure there were scenes of people being lowered into boiling water through the series The Tudors, which Alek and I watched last year

Bw,
Fliss

[Leaf]

That's a couple of curious looking potatoes. They remind me of Phil's mandrake root or voodoo dolls.

Very nice rhyme here, Fliss. I particularly liked,

"all seeping slowly into endless sleep."

and the next,

"The earthy life had been so glorious,"

Much enjoyed.

Lia

Yes, Lia, they're quite bizarre. This is one of the many projects my mother enjoys in her retirement: growing weird vegetables and taking photos of them

Thanks for liking the rhymes! I had fun writing this one

Best wishes,
Fliss

[jisbell00]

That sounds like an engaging and harmless hobby.
I like the rhymes too.

Cheers,
John

[Leaf]

Thanks, John! Yes, the engaging and harmless hobbies of Dear Mother

Bw,
Fliss