Greenlane Poetry

Victory Gardens

First I saw her in the meadow
where the gooseberries gone wild
never grew to full fruition
far too tempting for a child

As the fruit bush grew to flower
summer's rosebay petals dropped
for our den's imagined kitchens
potatoes all too early cropped

Legacy of local planning
needful in a time of war
campfire-roasted in late autumn
often charcoal often raw

'True dare forced-to kiss or promise'
was a game the youngsters played
often hindrance for the cowboys
early practice for a maid

First I kissed her by the river
underneath the railway arch
not yet knowing what her look meant
our lives trod a different march

Now the meadow is remembered
as the fruit bush in the frost
she is mourned by me and others
barely fruited early lost