S. Worthen | Weblog

Alas! The pepper plant which was,
but now it is no more.
A faded stalk of floppy leaves
lies littered on the floor.


It lasted for a month before
at last 'twas torn in two,
The last of all the pepper plants -
I shall not them renew.

Once there were ten, in pots and beds,
The deck was green with life,
They thrived, they grew, they bloomed, but then
came sorrow, storm, and strife.

In dark of night, when all was still,
crept out two mur'drous thieves;
up waterpipes, and to the roof,
they perches upon the eaves.

Across the railing, dirty paws
left muddy prints behind.
The vandals climbed down to the deck,
with food upon their.

But no, 'twas not the pepper plants,
they wished to feast upon.
They dug through dirt, some grubs to seek -
they should have tried the lawn.

They toss the pepper plants aside,
they broke them all in twain.
And one by one, the peppers died,
but still, they came again.

The very last of all of them,
was joyous in the sun.
But somewhen during last night's hours
its length of life was done.

Farewell, oh final pepper plant!
I would that you might stay!
But you have gone, I'll plant no more,
Racoons stole you away.

A gleam of hope this sad tale has,
for now the pepper's bed
lies empty of its former plants,
I'll plant some herbs instead.

Perhaps the rosemary shall work,
perhaps the basil's smell,
lemon verbena too shall try
to live their lives as well.