When the tomato vines
look past their prime
and the corn stalks
crackle in the autumn wind

there is more brown
than green in the garden.
But if you pull aside
a turning leaf

peer under a sagging
blossomless branch
you can still find enough
to fill your basket.

Even
the Truth
Changes.

Layer
after
Layer

added
to what
Was and

what Is
creates
a new

Story
to be
re-told.

I came from Siam
on a Ship made just for me.
Fed from a golden dish
and bathed in perfume.

I came from Siam
and I am the Protector
of all that I can see
and all who look after me.

I came from Siam
I greeted Buddha before
his Birth; Where I Live
there is Sure to be Fertility.

When I’m Yellow
I’ll Love You when
You Squeeze Me.

You may Find
Ways to Dilute
My Sour Taste

But never my
True Essence or
Medicine.

I’ll Get into
Your Blood and Bones
and Stay there.