Planting Peas During Covid-19

by Joanne Cafiero

​

Like a ceremonial gourd, 

the seeds rattle in their paper packet.

Once luminous green spheres,

now pocked, wrinkled wise old women, 

whose furrowed faces hold

the very secret of life.

 

My finger traces a small trench in the cold earth

turning up little clods of dirt,

an earthworm,

bits of decayed leaves.

The seeds take their places in line. 

I push soil over each one

patting them down with a prayer:

 “All is well"

 

And, in the dark underground

the wizened pearls wait

for water.

An early Spring rain did come, two days later.

The seeds drank, swelled,

transformed in a metabolic chain reaction;

stored proteins, fats and carbohydrates 

hydrolyzed into simple food 

for the embryo.

 

Soon, a barely perceptible thread, the radicle,

reached down through the stony soil,

And the cotyledon stretched upward,

breaking open the ground.

 

This is the axiom of life,

the pea, a seed,

mother, child, all contained within itself.

The mystery revealed through

It’s own astonishing annihilation.

 

Joanne Cafiero is a Sierra Club member from Brookfield.

​

Magic Desert

Camel, Snake, and Gecko

by Kathleen Zimmerman

​

The vastness of the landscape was all Camel could see,

as the Sun baked the fine sand and her toes and her knee.

 

As she walked along shifting dunes in this sandy sea,

she wished she had a good dinner and nice date you see.

 

Then the dry ground moved underneath her enormous feet,

making her wonder what could grow in this intense heat?

 

She knew of no plants who choose to live far out here,

then it occurred to her that it must be other life, oh dear.

 

At first she thought to run but then decided to stand,

she could not help but ponder who was there in the sand?

 

So, she said, "I won't hurt you if that is what you think.

I only eat plants which do not live in a dry sink.

 

Please come out of the sand to say hello and whatnot,

while I may be big I'm no threat, I truly am not."

 

In response to this up popped a pair of beady eyes, 

startled and then strangely made her think of flies.

 

These eyes caused her to rethink her decision to stand,

as she asked, "Why are you hiding there under the sand?"

 

Snake emerged from his cool hiding place coming so near,

testing the air with his tongue as he hissed in her ear,

 

"Why aren't you here with me under the sand I wonder,

answer my question or must I persist or ponder?"

 

Camel replied to his question calmly as she could,

"As you can see I would not fit and don't think I should.

 

Besides I have no need to hide out of sight from Sun,

my padded coat keeps me cool when I'm out having fun.

 

And my body adjusts itself to both cold and heat,

I'm cool in the day and warm at night it can't be beat."

 

At this Snake slithered close to her in his twisted way,

giving Camel chills despite the dry heat of the day.

 

Snake then hissed, "My temperature changes from hot to cool,

but it's due to what's around me because I'm no fool."

 

As he spoke looked at her in a way that was not kind,

making Cool Camel wonder what Snake had on his mind.

 

Camel took a step or two back as she looked around,

not liking this guy wishing he'd go back underground.

 

"You were cool hiding under sand but now you are not,

you should go back there," she said, "before you are too hot!"

 

Snake smiled showing his sharp fangs as he wound in his stance,

then Camel saw Gecko rolling eyes in the distance.

 

Gecko smiled and turned the most intense shade of olive green,

signaling to Camel that she was no help and mean.

 

So Cool Camel nodded towards Gecko as she did talk,

making Snake aware of another who he should stalk,

 

"May I suggest Gecko who may be more your liking?"

Snake slithered around to look with his tongue out flicking.

 

As Snake tasted the air he hissed, "You'd be a fine mate,

but I agree she'd be fitting as my dinner date."

 

Hearing this Gecko turned red as she scurried away,

with Snake close behind her so Camel went on her way.

 

Camel continued walking in the sand far from done,

but she no longer wished for more company than one.

 

Even though oasis was far away she did dance,

she was glad to be thinking freely not in a trance.

 

Meeting Snake and Gecko made her tread much more lightly,

now aware of what lived in sand daily and nightly!

 

Kathleen Zimmerman is an artist, writer, and a Sierra Club member. “All my animal tales / poems play with life's issues faced in infancy (Ocean), youth (Jungle), maturity (Forest), middle age (Savanna), old age (Tundra), death/rebirth (Desert) and ending in the here, and now (Farm). Both the artwork and the animal tales express a child-like wonder but with an old woman’s wisdom and humor.”