Saturday, 9 February 2019

My Friend the Bashful Carrot




'To Eat or not to Eat?'  

That is the question. 


Not cloned, 

not sprayed with dangerous chemicals, 

not injected with growth hormone, 

not sealed in a plastic tray, 

and definitely not up to officialdom's  dream 

of uniform quality standards,  

can the bashful carrot really be considered 

safe 

to eat? 


After all, 

he was harvested by dirty human hands!  

And sold by human beings 

from wicker baskets

lined up on a wooden plank 

 in the public market place. 

Yes, in the crowded open street! 


A pigeon perched nearby. 

And someone coughed. 

Coins and notes changed hands.

And people smiled

and laughed. 

And no-one shopped with a credit card. 



Some had arrived on bicycles.

Others with the bus.

Some had walked

from home 

or from their cars parked several blocks away.



There were no supermarket jingles 

or buy two get one free

bing bong 

sales announcements. 


To eat or not to eat? 



There is no answer to the question. 


 We will not chews for you. 


But some will try.





10 comments:

  1. Very good. I believe Morrisons sell wonky vegetables in blighty. Orang carrots are thought to have been cultivated in Holland. I would think bashful carrot grew in compact or stoney ground perhaps heavily manured. This caused bashful's roots to fork. They prefer sandy soil. More tales from the potting shed soon. I enjoyed your prose/poem Gwil.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Dave for the explanation. It sounds very plausible. I'm looking forward to more tales from your potting shed again his year.

      Delete
  2. Oh Gwil - it's almost too human to eat. It is so distorted that the distortion has given it a personality. But if you don't eat it it will just rot away and that is worse.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I suspect we've just had it in our delicious vegetable and chicken soup. In the interests of harmony I won't be asking.

      Delete
  3. 3 carrots in one. Rather ugly but will taste good. I enjoyed the poem and imagining you writing it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Not at all ugly. Just different. Beauty is after all in the eye of the beholder. Even a carrot deserves a break!

      Delete
  4. Yes, I believe it had some stones or twigs to work around. Or else, part of it needed a trip to the loo! Or else...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That was my first thought Joanne, it was bursting to go to the loo!

      Delete

Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.