Poem by Rachel Carillo

DC Farmer’s Market
In the Land of Plenty, carrots congregate.
Dusty yellow and saffron sticks
call on Carotene to work its power to
the people, strolling aisles
of an urban farmer’s market.
Rows of verdant spinach sparkle
iron-rich, nestled next to nectarines.
Orange oracles ooze Vitamin C,
their citrus scent reminiscent of
Paradise.
In the Land of Plenty,
in this Paradise, this Fruitopia
I watch a hunched homeless woman
emptying her voluminous pockets
to find change for cherries.
Cherries gleam like garnets, these
round promises of summer.
The long-bearded farmer refuses her change.
Gently placing orbs of glistening,
rain-kissed fruit in her hands
he says,
“These are for you.”
She smiles beamingly
through toothless grin.
“Just be careful of the pits, ma’am.
And please come back next week.
We have plenty to share.”
In this Land of Plenty,
there are 800 million more people
to nourish with Earth’s bounty.
In this Land of Plenty,
we’ll grow goodness from seed. 

Rachel Carillo (Montgomery County, MD) is a Noodle Expert, poet, gig-economy writer, social and climate activist, share-economy denizen and public transportation devotee. With a Master's degree in International Studies, she has traveled extensively, lived bi-coastally and skied the Southwest as a Mountain Girl. She is currently on a search for home while writing her first novel.

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