Harvest

A Poetry Zine

I have produced a few hard copies of this poetry zine for local distribution in Chattanooga, Tennessee, but I also want to share the work with my Substack subscribers. The poems are all in the pantoum form, and an explanation of the form appears on the back page.

The Substack software deleted the page breaks, but each poem appeared on a separate 5.5-by-8.5 page. I will be reading these at open mic gatherings over the next few weeks. Ten poems appear in the document and in a different order. As presented here, the third and tenth poems may be a bit dark for some readers. Others may appreciate them more fully.

Harvest

Cover Art and Poems by 
Ray Zimmerman

Three Sisters

Aw, shucks, it’s time to harvest the corn.
It stands tall among the beans and squash.
As the autumnal equinox approaches.
Corn, beans, and squash are eternal truths. 

It stands tall among the beans and squash, 
As leaves prepare to turn from green to gold.
Corn, beans, and squash are eternal truths,
But acorns fatten deer and squirrels.

As leaves prepare to turn from green to gold,
We pull the shucks from every cob of corn,
But acorns fatten deer and squirrels.
Venison, corn, and beans provide a feast.

We pull the shucks from every ear of corn.
As the autumnal equinox approaches. 
Venison, corn, and beans provide a feast.
Aw, shucks, it’s time to harvest the corn. 

September Afternoon

Today, a Tiger Swallowtail visits 
to gather nectar from the Ironweed. 
Delicate wings flap above each blossom 
She ceases hovering to descend and land.

To gather nectar from my yard’s Ironweed, 
the tongue uncurls and probes each plant.
She ceases hovering to descend and land
where katydids cease their strident calls.

The tongue uncurls and probes each plant,
as delicate wings flap above each blossom 
where katydids cease their strident calls.
Today, a Tiger Swallowtail visits.

Truth and Beauty

A fly attracted to death’s sweet aroma
fights downward-facing hairs and drowns
The truth of honeyed nectar can deceive. 
Insects are reborn in roots and leaves.

Fight downward hairs and slowly drown.
The pitcher plant employs an ancient plan.
Insects are reborn in roots and leaves.
The nectar once attracted pollinators.
`
The pitcher plant employs an ancient plan.
Spring pollen is gone, as seeds appear.
The nectar once attracted pollinators, 
but now it lures insects to their demise.

Spring pollen is gone, as seeds appear.
The truth of honeyed nectar can deceive, 
but now it lures insects to their demise.
A fly attracted to death’s sweet aroma.

 My Mother’s Kitchen

Ferment crushed tomatoes in a crock.
Another crock will hold shredded cabbage.
With spice, the tomatoes become ketchup.
The cabbage will make a fine sauerkraut.

Another crock will hold shredded cabbage.
It will garnish spare ribs or kielbasa.
The cabbage will make a fine sauerkraut.
Dig new potatoes from the garden.

It will garnish spare ribs or kielbasa.
Add onions and molasses for flavor.
Dig new potatoes from the garden.
A diced apple gives it a nice touch.

Add onions and molasses for flavor.
With spice, the tomatoes become ketchup.
A diced apple gives it a nice touch.
Ferment crushed tomatoes in a crock.

Firewood 

Before the old oak falls, for years it stands 
in soil born of leaves that worms cast out.
Birds break worms’ bodies in their beaks. 
Old branches break and fall to snowy ground.

In soil born of leaves that worms cast out,
unable to carry the load of ice, 
Old branches break and fall to snowy ground 
where birds assemble to gather ants. 

Unable to carry the load of ice, 
branches join acorns missed by squirrels, 
where birds assemble to gather ants. 
Before the old oak stands, an acorn falls. 

Branches join acorns missed by squirrels.
Birds break worms’ bodies in their beaks.
Before the old oak stands, an acorn falls. 
Before the old oak falls, for years it stands.

Autumn Light

The green of summer fades to autumn brown.
Ospreys depart, and Sandhill cranes arrive.
Gold and purple asters greet our eyes.
A choir of robins sings in morning mist. 

Ospreys depart as Sandhill cranes arrive.
Beige coins of leaves filter evening light.
A choir of robins sings in morning mist 
as morning stars greet the crescent moon.

Beige coins of leaves filter evening light.
Red maple leaves may shiver in a breeze, 
as morning stars greet the crescent moon.
Orange pumpkins give me harvest hope. 

Red maple leaves may shiver in the breeze. 
Gold and purple asters greet my eyes.
Orange pumpkins give me harvest hope.
The green of summer fades to autumn mist.

What the Creek Told Me

Where water moves between two banks
Swimming fish feed on smaller fry.
Cane grows tall above the waves.
A tall boy cuts cane to make a pole.

Swimming fish feed on smaller fry.
Sunfish find safety under roots.
A tall boy cuts cane to make a pole. 
No longer swimming, the fish feed the boy.

Fish find safety under roots. 
Cane grows tall above the waves.
No longer swimming, the fish feed the boy 
where water moves between two banks.

Harvest Moon. 

The other night, the old moon swelled toward full.
Before the rain arrived, the bone white orb 
illuminated land beneath its gaze, 
and moonlight glowed as cold as scattered teeth.

Before the rain arrived, the bone white orb
was gone behind wind-driven clouds and ice,
but moonlight glowed as cold as scattered teeth 
as calls of owls filled all the frozen land.

Illuminated land beneath its gaze
was gone behind wind-driven clouds and ice
as calls of owls filled all the frozen land.
The other night, the old moon swelled toward full.

Harvest

Orange is the color of the harvest.
Yellow squash and corn abound.
Pumpkins are carved or baked into pies.
Gold and purple flowers form a centerpiece.

Yellow squash and corn abound.
Red maple leaves carpet the ground.
Gold and purple flowers form a centerpiece.
Acorns fall, a feast for bears and deer.

Red leaves of maple carpet the ground.
A flock of hungry crows may gather where
acorns fall, a feast for bears and deer.
Peels and cores go in the compost heap.

A flock of hungry crows may gather 
where pumpkins are carved or baked into pies.
Peels and cores go in the compost heap.
Orange is the color of the harvest.

A Kettle of Vultures

A kettle of vultures makes a gruesome stew
They gather where hunters abandon a deer
Sit still for too long, and they might feed on you.
They eat things dead for days with nary a fear.

They gather where hunters abandon a deer.
They circle the skies until they see food.
They eat things dead for days with nary a fear.
Dead, not alive, is what they find good.

They circle the skies until they see food. 
Sit still for too long, and they might feed on you. 
Dead, not alive, is what they find good.
A kettle of vultures makes a gruesome stew.

Pantoum

In these unusual poems, every line is used twice. The second and fourth lines of a stanza become the first and third lines of the following stanza. The first and third lines of the first stanza appear in the final stanza. 

If this sounds too complicated, don’t let that concern you. It will make sense after reading the poems in this booklet. If you want to see a pantoum by a noted author, please find a copy of, “Audubon’s Flute” by Robert Morgan. A copy appears in the book Writing Appalachia. The poem also appears online. 

The pantoum is known as one of the many “French Forms.” The French poets borrowed the form from Malaysia, where it appeared in sacred chants.

If you want more information on the poetics of the pantoum, consult the Academy of American Poets website. Another article on the pantoum appears on the Poetry Foundation website.

My poetry book, It’s Just a Phase, is still available from Walnut Street Publishing.

https://walnutstreetpublishing.com/product/its-just-a-phase/