Poet’s United Mid-Week Motif: Organic.
Alfalfa.
It is,
He said,
The most dangerous
Food on the planet;
Caused more deaths
Than any other;
Made countless sick;
Especially the weak
And vulnerable.
It has triggered
Miscarriages.
And yet it hides
Behind
The magic shield
Of organic,
Of green,
Of natural.
And it is.
Quite organic.
Quite natural.
Perhaps
Too natural.
That doesn’t mean
That it is harmless.
Nor that it is malicious.
Just that it is
Treacherous.
.
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© J Cosmo Newbery 2016
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Thanks for the reminder, beautifully poetic, that the magic shield humans build around "organic" these days makes it seem that it is benign. We return to an earlier use of nature without the savvy of those who've lived with it all their lives, and expect to find it packaged and innocent. I love how Jeffers writes about nature for just that reason. And this poem looks sweet as it begins, when it ends in treachery. Love it.
ReplyDeleteI had NO idea alfalfa was dangerous. My goodness!
ReplyDeleteAha - treachery - seems kitchens are rife with it..cancel that Alfalfa order Alice - and thank you for the education!
ReplyDeleteYoiks, alfalfa is bad? That is like finding out Santa isnt real. LOL.
ReplyDeleteMy science adviser tells me that it works like this: alfalfa is grown from seed that is exposed to the environment so may have all sorts of bacteria on it. To grow to shoots, it is kept warm and wet for four days. Bacteria double every 20 minutes. We then eat them raw. The only thing between you and any number of nasties is the shock chlorination steps in the rinsing process. If that fails, so do you. And home growers generally avoid that step.
ReplyDeleteThank God, we don't get them in India...or, maybe, I have never seen them here! Thanks for the warning..
ReplyDeleteLovely poem!
uh oh...one has to be cautious :(
ReplyDeleteIndeed! Not to mention the aflatoxins in organic peanuts...
ReplyDeleteBut, on a whole, have peanuts killed anywhere near as many people as alfalfa?
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