Once There Was Jam

(Honey fungus will wipe out with ease all soft fruit trees in it's path. A nightmare)

absent trees

remind me of my fruitless

autumn garden

pardon me for the resurrection

of our damson from cold ashes

or a greengage much mourned

soft mellow-yellow, bruised skins

abundantly ripe, oozing juice

sweet stickiness, a squelchy

mess on patio paving

permitted at times to rot

to drop from lofty heights

to attract unwanted attention

from nuisance wasps drowsy

in half drunken stupor

or a path stained with purple decay

forgive me while i pine little blots

of rotten fruit 

all destroyed by creeping spread

of fine thread roots from

an unrepentant villain

no stopping honey fungus 

Reviews

[Lorry]

What? No jam! Well that's bad enough, but I will lose the plot if it affects my marmalade. What am I meant to do now without Roses lemon n lime? This is the worst news since I grew up and realised curly wurlies were not the size of ladders like I once thought.
Breakfast will be mourned.
Methinks it's time to protest.
#jamlessbreakfast will be trending in no time 😀

[Chris Shaw]

Lemon and lime marmalade, now that sounds delicious on your toast. My greengage and damson jams were also delicious on toast and I miss my trees. Ah curly wurlies that takes me back Lorry. Thanks for your visit.

Chris

[Lorry]

Penny chews that could break your face, sherbert dibdabs, space dust and wagon wheels the size of... Well, wagon wheels. Ah, the gold old days. Don't make em like they used to. The kids of today, blah! 😀

[Chris Shaw]

You forgot black jacks that stained yer teeth black :))

[Lorry]

And rhubarb n custard, texan bars, midget gems. I know these all sound very 1970s, but my local newsagent/ post office still sells most of them. Not blackjack though.

[Chris Shaw]

Probably not allowed to say blackjacks anymore now we've gone all pc. They would have to call them white jacks even if they stained yer teeth black :)

[Lorry]

SEXIST! What about rainbow Jill's. Hmm, no, can't use the rainbow either. What about assorted colour hermaphrodite?

[Chris Shaw]

Singalong, sweets ain't what they used to be :)

[Lorry]

Said in a grumpy voice, with a Blah at the end 😀

[Shoshana]

Oh boy, does that sound delicious. Now you've got me craving some sweet jam!

[Einstein Noodle]

you two have me chuckling away ...how the world has moved on ... correctness be damned says i! .. read moreyou two have me chuckling away ...how the world has moved on ... correctness be damned says i! ..

[Chris Shaw]

I love my banter with Lorry Mr E,. My inner child likes to come out and play as you well know :)

[Einstein Noodle]

:))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

[Lorry]

She broke the cypher E, and is the only one who understands what I'm speakifying. Honestly, most days people look at me like I'm in a clockwork orange, with sarcastic eyeballs and question mark eyebrows. It really groubles my fro fro 😀
Poor Chris, landed with being my interperator and carer 😀

[Chris Shaw]

Ha ha. Me speak Lorry lingo :))

[Lorry]

You normalate my speechels 😀

[Poetic Beauty]

This to me sounds like using rotten fruit as a comparison to an abusive relationship. Maybe I’m wrong but there are a few lines that popped out and directed my attention that way.

[Chris Shaw]

I always find it so interesting how different callers interpret poems. Was pleased to receive a visit from you. Thank you.

Chris

[Poetic Beauty]

You’re welcome

[Katrina Mckeown]

This is all very sad indeed :(
Best wait until summer and have some new fresh fruits.

[Chris Shaw]

Thank you Katrina. Sadly all our soft fruit trees have succumbed to the deadly honey fungus, so yes I will be buying fruit in the summer where for years we grew our own. Appreciate you checking in.

Chris

[Katrina Mckeown]

That is sad indeed, sorry to hear that Chris, your welcome, always nice to visit you :) have a great day :) 🌈

[Jimmy Yetts]

("Honey Fungus," reminds me of a girl I once dated.)

Stark and somewhat shocking portrayal.
This destroyer sounds almost alien; have no desire ever to witness its handiwork.
An absolutely stunning poem, Chris!

[Chris Shaw]

Ha ha Jimmy. She certainly sounds as though she was both delightful and dangerous.

This disease which affects soft fruit trees is an absolute killer. It wipes out whole orchards. It took out three of our fruit trees, a damson, a cherry and a greengage. Much lamented they are.

Many thanks for your lovely review and continued support. Very much appreciated.

Chris

[Lydia Shutter]

Oh, I can relate to this one. We had a mango tree in our backyard and a few years ago, the fruit was just not the same as it had been. Still, the squirrels and the ducks were very happy to eat parts of the mangoes that fell off the tree and leave a trail of sticky sweetness behind.....a trail that the bugs so enjoyed. I am not familiar with honey fungus, but not having jam for breakfast should be criminal! I could picture the scene because your imagery was just great. Lydi**

[Chris Shaw]

We do get used to our fruit trees don't we Lydi**. Really miss the jam and the greengages were wonderful to eat. Honey fungus is a killer. No stopping it once it's taken hold. Thank you for this lovely response. Hope all is good with you.

Chris

[Robert Trakofler]

what vile creature would dare intrude the rhyming queens gardens? Dear god what perfect pests plundering patio plants producing purple petulance pon your pathways! Lol To arms with your pruning snips fair Queen cast those invaders forthwith:) he he, I love it!

[Chris Shaw]

Dear Bunny, poor trees had to be felled. The honey fungus killed them completely, so no lovely jam for me. It's a real killer once it takes hold, nothing you can do. Thank you for your lovely review.

Chris

[Chris]

Poignant memories... of "other" times
- both bitter and ...sweet -
remain behind our eyes.

Chris

[Chris Shaw]

Thank you Chris. Bitter and sweet sums it up perfectly. Pleased to see you check in and say hello. All good wishes.

Chris

[Chris]

Seems we each have a 'Lizbeth Rose remembered.

[Chris Shaw]

Lizbeth Rose a gun slinger, Honey Fungus a tree killer. Both have nice nice, names but both are lethal :))

[Einstein Noodle]

i'm plum ignorant Christine ;) thanks for the edjekation :} things that may seem unpleasant ie your "..squelchy mess.." ..."..nuisance wasps..." or "or a path stained with purple decay" ...seemingly insignificant for the delight of those plum fulls of sugar .. i especially enjoy your drunken wasp ma'am ... i read that the honey fungas comprise some of the largest living organisms in the world!! some covering over 3 sq. miles :-0 ..and treatment is to burn and remove any and all parts of the infected tree .. wow! powerful stuff says i! the best thing about this poem for me is how perfectly it fits into a metaphor of all kinds of life ... expectations, rewards, adversity, struggle and survival ...in the realm of the heart .. at work .. and at play .. i think this is a special poem Christine .. happy i didn't miss out!
E.
ps. not much of a jam or jelly guy .. once in a while on buttered toast with Rasberry preserves .. however .. a friend recently gave me a small jar of "Coffee Stout...Green Head...Beer Jelly" that is incredible .. complex and subtle .. and the sweetness winds in the end .. ;)

[Chris Shaw]

Hello Mr E. Coffee Stout .. Green Head..Beer Jelly, what a mouthful :)) Does that go on bread too? How do you take it? Pleased you got an edukashun on plums. I do miss em. That honey fungus is a deadly serious problem. It is a plague on fruit trees. So now you will know that. Pleased that my lines took you to other places too. I always like that. Have a great day my friend across the pond and I thank you for checking in and saying hello.

Chris

[Einstein Noodle]

yes...toast, English Muffin, or bagel .. we usually keep the three around for Norma .. like i say i am not much for that stuff .. but beer jam may make a new man out of me! :)

[Chris Shaw]

Beer jam would make a new man out of many:)) If wasps can get drunk on fruit, just think what beer jam would do hee hee

[Einstein Noodle]

ahahahaha my happy heart stings ;]

[Chris Shaw]

Very good my waspy friend :))

[Einstein Noodle]

well ... i am white .. no Brit in me ... raised Catholic .. and I am Christian .. not sure i can claim Protestant tho .. and definitely not wealthy ... a dove maybe .. with with gloves on :)))))))))))))))))))

[Chris Shaw]

Wot no black and yella stripes :))

[Einstein Noodle]

:) .....................

[augustus]

You illustrate completely my efforts to grow fruit in my garden. I was looking at a loaded apple tree and decided to pick them the next day. What happened? Overnight we had gale force winds and it stripped the tree bare with the fruit on the ground. I laughed when I read the poem.

[Chris Shaw]

Nature doing you a favour Augustus. Saved you a great deal of work. Sadly nature can be quite fickle and work against us as well. Hope you made good use of those apples. Thank you for your review. All good wishes.

Chris

[augustus]

Your not kidding! I've lost plums through frosts. My raspberries have been overtaken by bindweed and to cap it all my melon plants have given up the ghost!

[Chris Shaw]

Nature fickle indeed. It giveth in one hand and taketh away in the other. I think she owes you Augustus.

[emmajoy]

' .. forgive me while i pine little blots - of rotten fruit.. all destroyed by creeping spread - of fine thread roots from..

Honey fungus is what it is - a plague as far as a keen, loving gardener can have. What goes can be a beloved habit, a morning delight.. in fact an any time of the day one. You set your words as if talking of near life or love, of any variation of treasured thoughts and needs. You are such a special writer, Chris, you always find a way of adding a roar or a whisper in you your writing!

[Chris Shaw]

A plague it is Em. Trees sadly missed. Thank you for your ever thoughtful responses. Always most welcome. Have a good week-end my friend.

Chris

[Eilis]

I love the build of this, Chris. Your words could stand in for so many situations in life. The loss of something well loved and perhaps taken for granted while it is thriving. Or rather, just living along with the sense that things will continue as is.

But, of course, I see that this is about a specific loss as described. And a great one too. Losing plants that were so long fostered and a part of the cyclical year is awful. Especially considering how long fruit trees take to begin their fruiting. Not something easily replaced. I was sorry to read that this is your reality just now.

Excellent poetry. Not such an excellent subject, but I do hope you are able to begin again with your orchard and that the fungus hasn't made that impossible for the foreseeable future.

[Chris Shaw]

Many thank yous Eilis. I always find your reviews so interesting. Sadly these trees are missed both for their beauty and the fruits they provided for thirty years. Like old friends they were.

Chris