Welcome to Poetry Friday, this week hosted by Molly Hogan at Nix the Comfort Zone, HERE. Thank you, Molly, for hosting.
It’s August and I’m inundated on some days with vegetables from my generous neighbor, Mike’s, garden. When he knocks at my door, I know I better clear the afternoon of all planned activities. This week he brought beets, lettuce and squash, just picked. It’s an amazing gift.
I love the beet greens and the roots themselves, but I wonder what kids must think of them. Though pickled beets were served once upon a time in my family restaurant, I was loathe to touch them and didn’t. But, after growing up and trying fresh beets from a garden, well, I changed my tune.
I easily found a kid’s poem written about beets. Here’s the first stanza of a poem by Jack Prelutsky from NEW KID ON THE BLOCK. The full poem is HERE.
I'd Never Eat a Beet by Jack Prelutsky (stanza 1) I'd never eat a beet, because I could not stand the taste, I'd rather nibble drinking straws, or fountain pens, or paste, I'd eat a window curtain and perhaps a roller skate, but a beet, you may be certain would be wasted on my plate.
Vegetables do lend themselves to humor. Did you ever wonder why? If you have a theory why, share it in the comments. Goofy shapes? The Colors? The fact that parents are always trying to get kids to eat them?
The words to the poem below came to mind after roasting some beets today.
BEETS Today my mother peeled some, her hands turned fiery red. I asked, "What are they made of? Mother never said. And every August here they are! Rolling on my plate in a pool of vinegar. Taste them? No, I’ll wait. © Janice Scully 2022
Enjoy the summer, and all sorts of fresh fruit and veggies that grow from the ground and nourish us.