Bernice Rendrick

Bernice Rendrick was born in Kansas in 1930. She lived on a farm and attended her early grades in a one room schoolhouse. Much later she started her first garden in Scotts Valley and took writing classes at Cabrillo College. She also worked on the first organic garden established there. She has published poetry in many journals including the Porter Gulch Review, Quarry West and the Monterey Poetry Review.

 

Tomato History

for Bob 11-13-2005

I've got start tomatoes on my list today
but no enthusiasm without our drives
the the Love Apple Farm.
No excitement without your research
on Big Boy and Early Girl.
Information on our weather zone
seems to be lacking.
The seed catalogs didn't come this year.

Over time we moved into the heirlooms,
imagining tomatoes of all colors
from pink to yellow, purple to black.
Imagining sweet globes for conserves
or a tart green relish.
Vats of ripe red sauce for pasta.

In reality we rarely
got a bumper crop with our cool nights,
gophers and hungry deer.
Drought, rot, fat worms.

When spring nudges
I pull down the shoebox, scatter
pale seeds into pots of dark earth
by the sunny window.
Tell them they'll have to struggle.

I'll see what happens
from day to day.

©2008 by Bernice Rendrick