Rhubarb

i come from a place
where rhubarb doesn't grow
and it's hard to find at market
just like daffodils
and tulips in the garden
too hot - no real winter.

now i live in a place
where rhubarb grows wild
and there's nothing but rhubarb
on the shelves right now.
rhubarb, rhubarb, rhubarb.

the first time i ever had it (rhubarb)
was in eureka(!), nevada.
tiny town. mike's wife
made rhubarb cobbler
i was still recovering from
bad food poisoning.
i always put lots of food on the plate
but often found i couldn't finish it.

in eureka
the only thing i finished
was the rhubarb cobbler.

so today i bought some rhubarb
and made a strawberry-rhubarb crostata.

and i took some pictures
of the rhubarb.

and then i came to blip
and i wrote a free verse poem
about the fruit that's a vegetable
everywhere but
the good old U.S. of A.

(recipe)