A Poetry Post Page - on 'The Beckoning'


Poetry by Robert Watson




Added 10 August 1999

This is a section where I post poems sent to me by people who have found my site and wish to display their own works. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

This poem is by Robert Watson


Cantaloupe

I am like a cantaloupe
You've long forgotten
At the bottom of the refrigerator
Over by the corner of the shelf

Where I should be sweet
I've grown rotten to the core
Where I should be firm
I've grown soft
Yielding easily to these external pressures

Soon
There will be mold

Perhaps
If I'd been more like ketchup
I'd have been more indispensable
Not so easily discarded
When I am old

Lasting a long time
Even after opening to air
I'd still be bold

Or a can of pears
Sitting on a shelf
Resting quietly
Until the next time
You went rummaging for something good to eat

You think I am a walnut
With this hard shell?
Hah!
You should see me in the mirror
When I'm not looking
I hardly recognize myself