My Bountiful Harvest

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 dVerse Prosery 

Write a piece of flash fiction or other prose up of up to or exactly 144 words, including the given line from this poem. 

“The future gathers in vine, bush, and tree: Persimmon, walnut, loquat, fig, and grape.” From the poem “Time and the Garden,” by Yvor Winters

dead zinnias

144 words

     It’s been a long summer, so long I’ve given up on the garden.
     The Shasta daisies once tall and proud, now tall and brown, crisped by the August sun.  I’ve let the pluots drop to the ground.  I’ve no energy to haul out the ladder to pick the ones past my reach.  Keep my distance, out of sight is out of mind.  
     Did I say no energy?  Yes, that, plus I just don’t care anymore.  After illness a few springs ago the garden’s gone to seed, to weed, to pot, as it were.  Nothing was weeded that year.  Last year their seeds grew wild, too much for me to handle, this spring doubly so. 
     It’s been written that “The future gathers in vine, bush, and tree: Persimmon, walnut, loquat, fig, and grape,” but all that my future gathers is a bountiful harvest of depression.  

©2025 Lisa Smith Nelson. All Rights Reserved   

Edit - by the way, if you are on WordPress I may not be able to comment.  I do read all, or most, of other's posts, however since I wasn't using WordPress anymore (had been a co-host on a blog, and posted on another's blog) I deleted it.  That means if I am required to sign in to comment on a blog I can't.  WordPress says that email is already in use, but I can't use it again!  Some WordPress blogs allow me to sign in with Google, but not all.  Some allow me to comment as "anonymous" but not all.  I guess it's your comment settings.  So, I do read your posts, just can't let you know I did!  

Comments

  1. brudbergAugust 19, 2025 at 1:12 AM

    I hope that one day your garden will raise from such a depressive state.

    ReplyDelete
  2. JadeLiAugust 19, 2025 at 10:50 AM

    I feel your resignation about staying ahead of the weeds. They seem to grow the best in summer heat.

    ReplyDelete

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