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The Horn of
Plenty
Thirty-nine poets
from thirteen countries contributed one-hundred-ninety-two
verses to the May / June 30, 2011 "vegetable(s)" Haiku Thread.
The vegetable is
versatile and plays many roles in contemporary life across the
globe. Vegetable usually means an
edible plant or part of a plant
other than a
sweet
fruit or
seed. This typically means the
leaf, stem, or root of a plant. However, this concept is based
on culinary and cultural traditions and is therefore, somewhat
subjective. While many vegetables are consumed raw, many are
cooked to make them edible. Vegetables are eaten in a variety of
ways, as part of
main meals and as
snacks. The
nutritional content of
vegetables varies considerably, though generally they contain
little
protein or
fat, and varying proportions of
vitamins,
dietary minerals,
fiber and
carbohydrates.
Eating plenty of
fruits and vegetables helps people ward off heart disease and
stroke, controls blood pressure and cholesterol, prevents some
types of cancer, avoids a painful intestinal ailment called
diverticulitis, and guards against cataract and macular
degeneration, two common causes of vision loss.
The Haiku submitted
to this Thread have suggested diverse relationships to people.
...one unlikely
combination—vegetables and romance:
vegetable
garden—
between peas and tomatoes
our first kiss
# 22. Andrzej Dembonczyk, PL
the
dinner party
baby corn and carrots
wrapped in candle light
# 184. Karin Anderson, AU
under
trellises
their blooming vegan romance
yields snap peas
# 143. Alegria Imperial, CA
two peas in a pod
shelled on the same day
identical twins
# 28. Stella Armour, UK
middle of the night—
my pregnant wife covets
fresh lettuce
# 179. Cezar Ciobica, RO
...vegetables
provide a seemingly endless bounty all over the world:
African
market—
mounds of vegetables
I don't recognise
# 186. Juliet Wilson, UK
summer
harvest:
the salad bowl
shames the rainbow!
# 11. Chitra Rajappa, IN
stems
and leaves,
flower stalks, roots, and seeds
vegetable delight
# 62. Munia Khan, BD
a
new potato
on the garden fork tine
Christmas Day
# 149. André Surridge, NZ
Filled solarium—
among cucumber blooms
tomatoes budding
# 138. Maria Tirenescu, RO
carrots
and parsley
embrace in the pot
this soup heals souls
# 76. Evica Kraljić, CR
...vegetables are a
part of the human gourmet experience!
appetite
teaser—
cauliflower florets
in his soup bowl
# 45. Sandra Martyres, IN
bean soup
with roast sausages
lunch for uncle
# 25. Tatjana Debeljacki, SR
fine
dining
ahhh! but there's no carrot
on my stew
# 172. . Willie R. Bongcaron, PH
red
carrots
in my Sunday soup...
taste of sunshine
# 118. Keith A. Simmonds, TT
...humans are not
the only beings who enjoy the gourmet aspect of vegetables:
open house…
snails dine al fresco
in my lettuce patch
# 36. Cara Holman, US
leaf of
lettuce
waymarks behind
a snail
# 13. Vera Primorac, CR
in my
fresh greens
a caterpillar feasting—
hot summer day
# 43. Sandra Martyres, IN
in the restaurant
a slug in the salad
and a smaller bill
# 174. Malvina Mileta, CR
pool
of moonlight:
a raccoon paw
fondles an eggplant
# 05. Emily Romano, US
dusk–
under the pumpkin's leaves
a harsh croaking
# 46. Djurdja Vukelic-Rozic, CR
...vegetables
permeate the fabric of life and appeal to all generations:
hometown
memories...
a bag of mixed veggies
defrosting
# 20. Chen-ou Liu, CA
eggplants
tonight, the same shade
as the mountains
# 06. Stevie Strang, US
vegetable carving
a fine art
in Thailand
# 79. Sandra Martyres, IN
first pickings
the plunk of peas
in a pan
# 83. Bernard Gieske, US
secrets…
the whisper of corn silk
between my fingers
# 03. Cara Holman, US
sultry
day—
the seller fanning himself
with cabbage leaves
# 189. Cezar Ciobica, RO
the little
cowboy
peas corralled
on his plate
# 81. Bernard Gieske, US
chilly
spices
mixed in chicken curry
my grandfather's choice
# 169. Priyanka Bhowmick, IN
stiring up snow
grandmother looks for leeks—
soup for granddaughter
# 104. Nada Jačmenica, CR
hot peppers—
jumping from the swing
on a dare
# 38. Cara Holman, US
never
changing
mashed potatoes and peas—
Grandma's menu
# 148. Sandra Martyres, IN
...a good laugh at
the foibles of life is sometimes far better than a doctor's
prescription to treat the mysterious aches and pains experienced
in life. These poets link a light hearted sense of humor
with vegetables:
Popeye
cartoons—
my son reminds me
to eat spinach
# 187. Cezar Ciobica, RO
eating
carrots
Bugs Bunny
as role model
# 168. Patricia Carragon, US
no
baby
among the cabbage leaves
only a stump
# 119. Irena Szewczyk, PL
a giant pumpkin
Cinderella smiles
from her carriage
# 67. Sandra Martyres, IN
teetering high heels
and a cauliflower
child bride’s dress up
# 126. Karin Anderson, AU
carrots
in the basket—
so many noses
for snowmen
# 02. Vania Stefanova, BG
Everyone likes a
laugh and these senyru brought smiles to my face and an "oh,
yeah, that problem!" response. Ironically, these social problems
have been liked by the poets to the ubiquitous vegetable:
Year of the
rabbit—
the vendors raise
the carrots' price
# 130. Cezar Ciobica, RO
cucumber
salad...
a patient trembles thinking
of e-coli
# 86. Keith A. Simmonds, TT
out
of Europe
deadly bacteria
in vegetables
# 110. Keith A. Simmonds, TT
...a major gross out!
mixing veggies
in a large wok
chef licks his fingers
# 77. Sandra Martyres, IN
...or, on a more
personal level...
veggie
platters
her voluptuous rump
is showing less meat
# 170. Patricia Carragon, US
rotten
tomato
how I feel
about you
# 164. Patricia Carragon, US
beets—
and he wonders how he got
kidney stones
# 100. Stella Pierides, DE
celery crunch—
I always knew you threw
the dice
# 21. Stella Pierides, DE
sunday brunch
with the inlaws
the taste of pepperwort
# 07. Kirsten Cliff, NZ.
from
every sill
the smell of tomatoes
over-ripening
# 162. Scott Owens, US
So, while many
individuals consider the "vegetable" to be a physician's
prescription to prevent ailments, other poets see a more
unsavory relationship!
The haiku from the
thread included in this Editor's Choice were selected because
they meet these criteria:
-
contain 5 7 5
syllables or less arranged on three consecutive lines
-
constructed with
fragment and phrase techniques (See
Jane Reichold)
-
use a kireji—written
and / or unwritten, but obviously present
-
all of the haiku
cite a vegetabe as required by the Thread directions
-
some haiku
contain a kigo
-
many use
juxtaposition to express implied themes
-
some haiku use
the middle line as a pivot
-
some haiku use a
kigo
morning breeze—
the horn of plenty
overflowing
John Daleiden
Phoenix, Arizona in the Sonoran Desert
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