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title: A Bone of Contention with the Ghost of John Lennon over Strawberry Fields Forever

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# A Bone of Contention with the Ghost of John Lennon over Strawberry Fields Forever
**by Ruth Weinstein**

last year I turned each unripe berry’s curve to the sun,
creeping through a single row; their red hearts and green
leaves dotted by starry blooms. they were few enough.
there was time for such indulgent care and contemplation.

this year with mother plants settled in rich soil,
the unruly daughters run amok by the dozens,
march-dancing fifty feet in and out of a quadruple-wide row, 
their leaves in mudras of ecstatic hand jive,
declaring their wild passions.

 i crawl on hands and knees, between berries and beans,
 muttering under my breath, in contention with the ghost of 
 John Lennon and his audacious dream of Strawberry Fields Forever.
 his romantic idyll has become my late spring curse.
 
i like his music well enough and am always willing to Give 
Peace a Chance, but the concept of infinite strawberries
is appalling.  forever is married to everywhere.  
eternity walks hand-in-hand with every arable spot of land.

in my garden those amorous red-hearted girls of spring 
spread their juicy sweetness to the cucurbita, threatening
to swallow squash, pumpkins, melons and cucumbers.  
we are already sated, our freezer filling, jars of jam stacked high.

did John Lennon ever fill more than a priceless Japanese bowl 
with ripe berries?  did he arrange five of them with wabi-sabi aesthetic
on an antique Satsuma plate scarred by Yoko with a diamond drill 
to make an artistic statement, while lying nude together in the fields?

did he ever ache in every joint from picking gallons a day?
did he wonder how to save them for winter and buy a food  
dehydrator, stock up on canning jars and baggies, consult 
cookbooks for shortcake and pie recipes with a twist?

oh, John Lennon, i’m sorry you are dead.  if you lived still, 
i would invite you to my garden and let you pick from one
row of the ruby jewels, the red berries of passion and gorge  
you and your love with sweet flavor for an afternoon. 
