Empire Asparagus Festival 2015 poetry contest
Caption: Sue and Tom Flerlage enjoy deep-fried asparagus at last weekend’s Empire Asparagus Festival.
First Place
Sarah Marossy (Empire)
“In Sandy Fields”
In sandy fields, warriors grow
Victors of the April cold
They rise in columns Long and Lean
Donned in armor shrouded green
Against all odds, they rise and stand
Piercing through the Loamy sand
With passing days, they wage the fight
Pushing on through dark and light
But, May arrives and soon it’s time
They sacrifice for us to dine
In sandy fields, warriors grown
Spears of valor, bravest known
Second Place
Rachel Reed
“Asparagus Tips”
Ancient Greeks thought you a perfect snack,
The French, an aphrodisiac.
Egyptian pharaohs gave you to the gods,
Your tasty, tender, verdant rods.
Slender stalks delicately crowned,
Reaching skyward from sandy ground.
I find you wild, on loamy lands,
Or the produce aisle, in rubber bands.
Sometimes you’re purple, mostly green,
Or white when stalks rise sun unseen.
Plucked as spring melts into heat,
Empire of this redolent treat.
Olive oil, a dash of salt,
The perfect vegetable gestalt.
Bacon-wrapped, tossed in to bake,
Or crisply steamed, with T-bone steak.
Plate, tray, even in a chalice,
Asparagus officinalis.
And best: reminders of an eating spree,
Boldly expressed in next day’s pee.
Third place
Elizabeth Paxson
“Grass Goddess”
The grass goddess
Speaks in spears,
Sharp, green language
Earth-scented
Arrows from the underworld
Shot upwards through earth
Into the bright, wet fields,
Pointed, pink-scaled domes
Look like minarets
From some Russian fairytale.
Scales yearn to open
Into feathery arms,
But we are greedy
Grass eaters.
We wait like foxes
Impatient for the tender stalks
To show their tops.
Just enough stem
And tight, fat buds,
We dream of melted butter
And lemon
Before making the cut.
The grass goddess
Speaks to our tongues,
A sharp, green language
Of earth and sun
And we lick our lips
Savoring the last bite.
We can’t help it
Being grass eaters
We are back in the garden
Wanting more.
