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Corinne
Member Ascendant

since 1999-10-28

Posts 5167
state of confusion

0 posted 2004-12-17 10:35 AM

Greenwell Farms

We arrive late morning. By luck, it is harvest season.
We wait atop a hill for our guide,
while admiring six-foot tall poinsettias
and banana and papaya trees heavy with fruit.
To the west, a cobalt Pacific holds our eyes.
Cumulous build, promising afternoon showers.

We are led to a grove of well-pruned bushes
bursting with ripening red drupes.
We hide beneath the leafy branches
like cattle shading their hides from SunRa.

We each pick one red berry,
then squeeze the outer membrane until it pops.
Inside, most contain two halves of a whole,
although it’s possible to find a single pea.
On cue, we taste slippery coatings of sugar,
pink tongues extended in unison.
A cruel trick: berries ripen individually.
It might take weeks to pluck a single branch clean.

We move downhill to a cluster of horizontal metal planes
affixed to terraces. Burlap bags filled to the brim
lean against rusted corrugated walls.
An open washing machine swishes away skins
then spills the beans onto a wooden plane for drying.
At night and when it rains, mobile tin roofs are rolled out.

Soon the crop will be at its peak.
Workers will be flown in from Costa Rica;
the locals having long since abandoned long hours
of sweating in the sun for $1.10 a pound.

Most of the beans will be shipped green.
The largest fetch the highest price. Runts and peaberries
meet their end in a blend or become chocolate-covered novelties.

Our tour ends. We pour paper cups of different varieties;
a new appreciation of the four buck cup.

Sunshine

Administrator

Member Empyrean

since 1999-06-25

Posts 63354
Listening to every heart

1 posted 2004-12-17 10:46 AM

Ummmmm....this smells good!

passing shadows
Member Empyrean

since 1999-08-26

Posts 45577
displaced

2 posted 2004-12-17 11:13 AM

nice!

BluesSerenade
Member Patricius

since 2001-10-23

Posts 10549
By the Seaside

3 posted 2004-12-21 03:32 AM

We each pick one red berry,
then squeeze the outer membrane until it pops.
Inside, most contain two halves of a whole,
although it’s possible to find a single pea.
On cue, we taste slippery coatings of sugar,

Your poetry is so alive, and ever so versatile, Corinne.

Best wishes to you at Christmas and in the New Year.

suthern

Member Seraphic

since 1999-07-29

Posts 20723
Louisiana

4 posted 2004-12-21 02:22 PM

I want some! *S*

A beautiful write... you involve more than the sense of sight... I found myself breathing deep... inhaling the aroma. *S*

Dark Angel
Member Patricius

since 1999-08-04

Posts 10095

5 posted 2004-12-21 02:57 PM

Such vivid imagery you pen Corinne, without fail.

Most enjoyable. I'm sending to my libray.

Mxx

into this night i wonder, it's morning that i dread, another day of knowing of, the path i fear to tread.
~Sarah McLachlan~

*Alli4000*

Member Elite

since 2004-03-21

Posts 3188
The World of Poetry

6 posted 2004-12-21 08:46 PM

Wonderful write!!

~Alli~

Happy Holidays!

Earth Angel
Member Empyrean

since 2002-08-27

Posts 40215
Realms of Light

7 posted 2004-12-22 01:45 PM

You came away with a lot more than most tourists do. Through your observant and caring eyes, you truly saw and experienced another world. Thank you for so vividly sharing it with your readers!

Linda

JamesMichael
Member Empyrean

since 1999-11-16

Posts 33336
Kapolei, Hawaii, USA

8 posted 2004-12-22 07:04 PM

Enjoyed...James

wranx
Member Elite

since 2002-06-07

Posts 3689
Moved from a shack to a barn

9 posted 2004-12-23 01:20 PM

Worth every penny, this.

Cpat Hair

Member Patricius

since 2001-06-05

Posts 11793

10 posted 2004-12-23 02:26 PM

merry christmas my friend....

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