(after Pablo Neruda)
by Nancy Membrez
Carrot,
delicacy of rabbits and
the near-sighted,
earthy and phallic,
orange and muddy,
inverted pyramid,
crunchy, skinny legume,
you sleep under the earth.
By your green punkish crest
of long stems, a weed incognito,
we yank you out of the ground,
hungrily and avidly,
and when we place you
on the kitchen table,
your root cousins, the yams,
smooth, obese, and beardless,
envy you.
This poem obtained the 5th Place at The Austin International Poetry Festival 2016
