A poem about life, death, tomatoes, product placement, and rebirth
Sacrament
I want to be a sacrament
When I die
Mix my ashes with garden soil, Miracle Gro
Put us in the plot I tilled and tended every spring
Plant tomatoes — Beefsteaks, Better Boys and Brandywines
Water well
And when we ripen
Slice us thick and lay us out good white bread slathered with mayonnaise
Preferably Hellman’s, though Duke’s or Blue Pate will do
Salt, pepper, lettuce, the latter optional of course
Take a big bite
Think of me
Wash me down with cold, whole milk or a Barq’s root beer
Smile
I am back in circulation
“They’re gonna put me in the moovies/They’re gonna make a big star out of me.”
Sweet Olive Farm, an animal rescue ranch near Winterville, Georgia, is surely one of the most benevolent places on Earth.
Roaming its grounds are everything from Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs to alpacas, from chickens to mules to Emus. A visitor wandering around this peaceable kingdom faces the possibility of stepping into more than two dozen varieties of manure.
Old farm boy that I am, I was partial to the cow that couldn’t wait for her close-up.
Look them up online. They could use your support.
More joyful photos from my Christmastime safaris
