Empire Asparagus Festival poetry contest winners
“Asparagus: 21st Century Michigander”
First place
By Kimberlee Johnson
Ever-stoic asparagus, with stalks as tenacious and resilient as the Michigan soul,
With emerald reaching to break through stubbornly persistent opaque clouds,
Patience is thy virtue.
From seed, slow to unveil yourself, a phoenix of sorts,
a reminder that strength is acquired, earned—
You wait through a summer of glorious blossoms about you
And with an ever-present yearning within you
to pierce the surface of the soil and rise above it…
Then, without warning, the sun glitters upon you,
and your twisted marvels reveal their inner power:
braided blossoms of earthy green
caressed by curved tips of lavender and violet.
Yes, suddenly, and with the certainty and impulsivity rivaled only by true love—
Spring reveals her strongest proof of victory over winter, and it is YOU.
Commode to Asparagus
Second place
By Mary O’Neill
Into the bust
Of spring we rush
With the coming
Of asparagus.
Through earth’s crust
Green spears, they thrust!
We are succumbing
To asparagus.
Your flavor’s robust!
We consume you with lust,
And eat till we’re stuffed
Oh, tender asparagus.
But, let us discuss
Your embarrassing minus
Oh scrumptious
Verdant asparagus.
You make us blush
And quick to flush
Oh, stinky, noxious
Asparagus.
Still, eat you we must!
To smells we’ll adjust,
‘Cuz your bounty is lush
Oh delicious, malodorous asparagus!
Spears in the Sod — Asparagus … An Ode to Asparagus
Third place:
By Paula K. Darling
It seems it was lurking beneath the surface, seldom seen … and never heard …
But when I’d least expected, there it was … doing a feat that seemed absurd!
A tender tendril … tiny, tentative … still it tried, and achieved its worthy goal …
This nearly magic trick of nature … it speared through hard sod, still iron cold!
Like a hot poker burns through steel, it burrowed its say, no stopping between …
And feeling the warmth of the sun upon it … Shot straight up, and turned to green!
What once was white, tan, and purple … bits of color, that were varied, otherwise …
Saw the sun and changed its mind … Then changed its color, and changed its size!
Reaching t’ward the warmth or springtime, and taking in the goodness there …
It ripened quickly … and it took on flavor .. then, offered its self for table fare.
A friendly Stalk … Oh, brave small tendril, from a bed of death … you rise.
Though it looks like you’re not living for most of the year, In our eyes … We see
Now that you’re only sleeping! Dreaming of what you might become … and be.
How I wish that I could change … the things in my life … that easily!
Your life is short, your life is cut off … but it is always freely, given away.
Perhaps the lesson of your life is this … “To Live our Life like it’s Our last Day!” …
And to give away what we can not keep, for it is transient … at the best!
For like the tender asparagus stalk … in your sod bed, soon you’ll rest!
Teach me, Oh little Asparagus! … and I will listen … let me know your secret ways …
Oh, what’s that? He tells me just to listen … to the Heavenly Maker, who holds our days.
