Chapter (8) THE BEAN

GETTING KIDS TO EAT GREENS IS NEVER EASY. THIS WAS ONE MANS IDEA TO HELP HIS SON ENJOY HIS VEGETABLE.

THE BEAN

 

The boy sat staring, not eating, just looking at his dinner.

What’s wrong with it? His mother asked, “Please eat, you’re getting thinner.”

There’s green stuff near the taters, Replied the boy, “It’s just a waste.”

“Why do you keep on doing it?  You know I hate the taste.”

 

The father winked towards his wife, turned to his son and said,

“I need some help this evening son, come and help me in the shed.”

The man and boy left hand in hand, the boy was full of pride,

The father too, knowing his son was by his side.

 

Inside the shed were benches filled with pots of seeds he’d sown,

The father said. “Son it’s quite a miracle just how our food is grown.”

He showed the boy to put some earth into a pot of brown,

Then gave the boy a single bean, and gently pressed it down.

 

Then boy he took the hard black beans with pink and purple spots,

And planted each with love and care into a row of pots.

The father poured some water from a can of plastic green.”

Then he wrote on a small white label ‘This is my son’s first bean’

 

It wasn’t long until the bean had pushed out a small green shoot,

And when the boy first saw it he gave an excited hoot.

After school they took the bean and moved it to garden,

His father used a plastic cloche to allow the bean to harden.

 

The days they passed, the plant it grew, pushed out more leaves of green,

The boy said “Father, it’s the most amazing thing that I have ever seen.

Long canes were used to build a frame, so that the plants could climb,

The father said “They’ll reach the top, but it will take some time.”

 

Days turned to weeks, the plants grew more, made leaves and small red flowers,

They climbed and climbed up to the top, of the frames of cane built towers.

The flowers bloomed, the Bees they came and the boy was fascinated,

The Bees they flew from plant to plant to get each flower pollinated.

 

Very soon small pods appeared where the flowers had once been seen,

In the summer sun the pods grew long and turned a light bright green.

The father said “Son, now it is time, the beans are long and slender.”

“Fill this bowl, take to your mum,  she’ll cook them ‘till they’re tender.”

 

The boy sat staring, not eating, just looking at his dinner,

His Mum and Dad sat waiting, hoping this plan would be a winner.

The boy then started eating and the beans they vanished fast,

He smiled at his Mum and Dad, now he understood at last. 

Reviews

[Tony Jordan]

I half-expected some devious trickery afoot to fool the lad into eating those greens but was very pleasantly surprised to find a wholesome poem which showed there's more than one way to skin a cat.
Well penned M.E.
Educational and nutritional - sweet...

[MAD ENGLISHMAN]

Thank you I'm pleased you liked it.

[Najam Us Saher]

I love this poem. I like the parents concern and understanding nature to make their boy eat beans. The rhythm and flow of this poem was amazing. My eyes were glued to the words. I like how you manage to rhyme the words very easily and each rhyme has great significance. This poem made my day. Just loved it ☺

[MAD ENGLISHMAN]

Wow thank you so much.

[Najam Us Saher]

You're always welcome