{"id":1910,"date":"2016-08-03T00:00:38","date_gmt":"2016-08-03T04:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/mission-and-identity\/?p=1910"},"modified":"2019-09-18T16:47:40","modified_gmt":"2019-09-18T20:47:40","slug":"august-3-rutabaga","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/2016\/08\/03\/august-3-rutabaga\/","title":{"rendered":"August 3 – Rutabaga"},"content":{"rendered":"

Wednesday August 3
\n<\/strong>“Though your seeds are tiny
\nyou grow with fierce will”<\/p>\n

I am still settling into this year\u2019s work rhythms: \u00a0visiting friends and trading summertime stories; \u00a0catching up on some early in work-year\u00a0tasks; sorting. \u00a0For a while, perhaps, I will explore posts from the Work Day List\u2019s previous years. \u00a0Laura Grace Weldon\u2019s celebration of Rutabagas fresh from the garden appeared here last year on August 10. \u00a0 \u00a0Like many strong poems, Weldon sets us a table that looks ordinary but turns to become a gate into legitimate wonder. \u00a0Still pretty cheeky. \u00a0Wise too.<\/p>\n

Try reading it out loud with some pauses.<\/p>\n

john sj<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s Post:<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>“Rutabaga”<\/a><\/p>\n

You darken as my knife slices
\nblushing at what you become.<\/p>\n

\"rutabaga\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I save your thick leaves
\nand purple skin
\nto feed the cows.<\/p>\n

A peasant guest at any meal
\nyou agree to hide in fragrant stew
\nor gleam nakedly
\nin butter and chives.<\/p>\n

Though your seeds are tiny
\nyou grow with fierce will
\ngrateful for poor soil and dry days,
\nheave up from the ground
\nunder sheltering stalks
\nto sweeten with the frost.<\/p>\n

Tonight we take you into our bodies
\nas if we do you a favor\u2014
\nletting your molecules
\nbecome a higher being,
\none that knows music and art.<\/p>\n

But you share with us
\nwhat makes you a rutabaga.
\nThrough you we eat sunlight,
\ntaste the soil\u2019s clamoring mysteries,
\ngain your seed\u2019s perfect might.<\/p>\n

\"Laura<\/a><\/p>\n

“Rutabaga” by\u00a0Laura Grace Weldon,<\/strong><\/a>
\nTending<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0(Aldrich Press, 2013).
\n\u00a9 Laura Grace Weldon. Presented
\nhere by poet submission.<\/p>\n

Art credit:<\/em>\u00a0“Rutabaga,”<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0unknown
\nmedium, by\u00a0Lara Call Gastinger.<\/strong><\/a>
\n\u00a9 Lara Call Gastinger, 2004.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wednesday August 3 “Though your seeds are tiny you grow with fierce will” I am still settling into this year\u2019s work rhythms: \u00a0visiting friends and trading summertime stories; \u00a0catching up on some early in work-year\u00a0tasks; sorting. \u00a0For a while, perhaps, … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":139,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11641],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1910"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/139"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1910"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1910\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1913,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1910\/revisions\/1913"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1910"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1910"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1910"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}