peeking from bush behind the house,
capturing the fancy of a 6 year old
whose legs are forever running like wheels-
like a curious cat, she grabbed a fistful blooms,
marveling them like prized marbles, so smooth
& pungent, she hesitated on whether
she would show them to her friends, or taste them first --
adventure blazed like a runaway train
& fearing none--
she took a bite on the reddish fruit,
stinging, burning tongue, blurring eyes--fire-fire--
she spat them out, running like mad to the kitchen--water--water--
never--never-- would she bite into a hot pepper again --
Posted for: D'verse Poets Pub - Mining the memory
and Poetry Jam - Yes or No ~
hahaha well at least curiosity gave way to only a hot display and a lesson learned, hope in the writing of this no tongues were burned.
ReplyDeleteNever again Pat, until this day ~
DeleteOh my! I so empathize, Grace!! I am a great fan of HOT foods, but some peppers are just TOO hot.
ReplyDeleteYES they are. And NO, you would not make that mistake again!
Poor baby! What a way to discover peppers. Really vivd images in this poem. I can see this little girl eating those peppers. The end made me laugh.
ReplyDeleteThank you Heidi ~
Deleteoh my goodness...that had to be brutal for a little mouth...ha...it happened here though...as a small child my son got hot wing sauce swiping his hand and before i could stop him stuck it in his mouth...made for a long night...smiles...
ReplyDeleteThat must have been some night ~ Thanks for the visit Brian ~
DeleteOh boy, do I love hit peppers. But I had an early nightmare of an experience like yours with coffee. I found my grandfathers days old mug and didn't realize it needed to be hot - and not days old- and after one sip have never drank a cup of coffee in my life. Black coffee, ice cold, days old? - YUCK
ReplyDeleteThat is yucky indeed ~ Thanks Gretchen ~
DeleteGreat story--like prized marbles, an excellent simile. Kids will put anything in their mouths, it's no wonder that something as beautiful as a pepper would be tempting!
ReplyDeleteThanks Nico ~ We played with marbles when we were kids ~
Deleteoh, glad it was something worse... the lessons we learn
ReplyDeleteI know, we learn them early ~
DeleteLOL, that would have been funny, i mean i'd sympathize, but the whole scene, funny
ReplyDeletefor the thousandth time
Well, it's funny remembering it all now ~
Deleteoh heck...red pepper....now that is a shock for a six year old...glad it wasn't some poisonous fruit..
ReplyDeleteThankfully not a poisonous fruit ~ Smiles ~
DeleteNine lives, if truly like a cat, yes? I laughed, tho it wasn't funny, because of your touches and foreshadowing with picture. "legs are forever running like wheels-" is my favorite. I wrote a sonnet too.
ReplyDeleteLove the sonnet dear ~
DeleteGrace, I have some chili plants in my garden. My cats might go after them!
ReplyDeleteThis was fun. For me it was cigarettes. At seven. Never touched them again.
Ooohhh, we are really spinning down memory lane today.
The plant was actually for my Dad who loves chili food ~ Thanks for the visit ~
Deleteouch...curiosity goes hand in hand with childhood...for me it was poison oak..;)
ReplyDeleteYikes on poison oak ~
DeleteHilarious memory -- well painted.
ReplyDeleteMetaphors to relationships beg my mind!
Suggestions: peeking from THE bush; OF blooms
Thanks for the suggestions Sabio ~ I normally delete/don't include them when i am writing poetry form ~
DeleteOh, so you intentionally deleted them after writing them to sound like poetry?
DeleteSince I saw all sorts of other prepositions and definite articles and saw no rhyme or syllable reason for their absence, I thought they were simple typos. They stopped my read because they felt like mistakes. But maybe I am reading wrong. Maybe I don't understand a certain flow issue. Just thought I'd let you know one person's feel.
i was growing a chilli bush in a pot and had a visiting pony. one day i came home and the pot had been shattered. i think the pony tasted the berry and took revenge kicking the pot to pieces. they are quite a surprise if youre not expecting them =)
ReplyDeleteThat must have been some scene and mess ~ Smiles ~
DeleteWhat a painful lesson learned at an early age, Grace. As an adult I had an experience with a habanero pepper...but at least I was an adult. I like peppers, but didn't expect this one to be THAT hot!!
ReplyDeleteNever expect it to be THAT hot too Mary ~
DeleteBrilliant memory, I was right there with you in the garden. It reminds me of my little sister who mistook a black olive for a plump sweet grape....
ReplyDeleteShe had never eaten olives before and ended up drinking huge quantities of water. BTW Björn means bear in Swedish, hence my bearer in the ghazal
Lesson learned! Wow. I made that mistake as a youngster with some peppers that my grandma had.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds so much like my kid...he did the same way back :)
ReplyDeleteSome lessons are painful and not soon forgotten! Love this, Grace!
ReplyDeleteDon't mean to laugh at your pain, but...enjoyed your memory!
ReplyDeleteA perfect childhood memory. This really gave to the reader a perfect picture. I could taste and feel myself running to spit these awful peppers!
ReplyDeleteLol poor little girl... I can totally picture it. I had a Pakistani friend in college. We would often go to a Thai restaurant that had a dish full of red peppers. He would always order that and then sprinkle his own red peppers on top of it. I tried the dish once, trying to be manly, but my face literally turned red and I was burning all inside.... never again :P
ReplyDeleteDefinitely NOT ~~ a cool cat!!
ReplyDeleteHah! Lesson learned. Not all is as it appears to be, especially things of strange beauty. Poor child! A searing memory, indeed.
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh, my son did this when he was about three!
ReplyDeleteBeware of hot pepper !!!
ReplyDeleteOuch! What a way to learn about peppers! So well written though. Great share.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry, Grace, but I had to laugh. One time in a Chinese restaurant that had dim lighting, I chomped into a hot pepper. Thought I'd die!
ReplyDelete...aww...i understand the side of innocence here Grace... but ignorance is way different thing that sometimes being mistaken to innocence... i like the pacing you made here... it has brought entertainment... great write...smiles...
ReplyDeleteOh dear... I bet you said no next time!
ReplyDeleteOuch! A painful lesson!
ReplyDeleteWonderful images that awake every sense and sharpen our curiosity for what's around us! Blessings Deborah
ReplyDeleteYou had me captured in the first line and I was anxious to find out if she would taste them or not--and to find out what they were! Excellent writing here.
ReplyDeleteI understand Grace, I only love peppers only to same tasty but someones are really hot!!poor baby!
ReplyDeleteHa. A lot of fun here. Very vivid. k.
ReplyDeleteOoops...what a fun read!
ReplyDeleteI'm testing the waters for a new prompt blog:
http://wovendreamsprompts.wordpress.com/2013/02/08/welcome-to-woven-dreams/
hope you'll stop by soon Grace.
Happy Weekend, G
I don't blame you there one bit. My mom, when she was alive, use to recount the story of her father giving her a big bite of a hot pepper when she was very little, just because she wanted what he had. It gave her a start but unlike yourself it didn't turn her from eating them again.
ReplyDeleteOuch. Especially if they get to the eyes.. how they burn! But yes, those red pepper are bright and enticing.
ReplyDeleteLove your write. :)
hahahahahahahhahhaa I did that too!
ReplyDeleteEven though this poem is about a child, it does remind me of my cat. He bites into things all the time, destroying everything! haha but he never learns ...*sigh*
ReplyDeleteEmily
A Day in Durham
Oh, a difficult lesson,, ,my daughter learned it early too, but she took them from a bowl in the kitchen - never again!!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this writing very much,,,
Suspect your mother was secretly pleased when she realized you wouldn't be apt to taste unknown vegetation again.
ReplyDeleteLOL! Poor girl. Unfortunately, water doesn't doesn't help.
ReplyDeleteOh, my, poor little one. I think we all have a story where this happens in one form or another. This poem is universal for sure.
ReplyDelete