We were given a fig tree and planted it this spring. We are now harvesting figs! One at a time. My husband joked that we were having our first annual Simon Fig Festival. I served the single fig cut into 4 pieces for our dessert last night. A small, but successful harvest.
Ethical ELA is holding Open Write this week. The first prompt came from Denise Krebs. She reminded me of a form that Jane Yolen created called the septercet. Each stanza has seven syllables and there are 3 lines per stanza. I wrote a septercet about my first fig.
Do you see rain and complain?
Everything wet in your path–
Grass and mud slide to the street.I watch this single fig-fruit
turn from green to peachy-red
making rain into sweet juice.You can decide the mood here.
Rain or shine, weed or flower
Fig tree loves enough of both.@Margaret Simon, draft
You can choose to write a septercet about your own favorite fruit of summer. Leave a small poem in the comments and write encouraging responses to other writers.
Reflections on the Teche 
Margaret: We have a similar situation with a little raspberry bush. This week, 4 raspberries! Yum. I like “making rain into sweet juice.” Here is my septercet:
Amber orb, pink velvet blush,
Fits palm, tangs tongue, perfumes air,
Peachy sweet summer treasure.
— Karen Eastlund
Lovely imagery in “amber orb, pink velvet blush”. I’d take a harvest of 4 raspberries as a win.
Karen, such beautiful words you’ve chosen for your septercet. “Perfumes air” gives me all kinds of good memories of being in orchards.
Margaret,
A fig tree is a great gift. What a nice tribute to your fig tree. Right away your question and rhyme drew me in. Here’s my poem:
Favorite Fruit
purple stains on my fingers,
scratches on my arms,
seeds stuck in my teeth,
all worth picking summer
sweet and sour raspberries
summer gifts for my taste buds
Gail Aldous, draft
All the s sounds of picking raspberries. The taste is all worth the trouble.
Gail, it is worth the hassles for this summer gift. I’m excited to be in Washington state next month, hopefully with berries ready for picking. Lovely poem, and the title makes it more convincing.
Karen,
Good luck with your raspberry bush. I love raspberries. Your line “Amber orb, pink velvet blush” grabbed my attention. I love your line “Peachy sweet summer treasure.” I love peaches, too.
Sweet poem and photo, Margaret. Sorry I’m late to the party!
First annual Simon Fig
Festival–tiny tastes of
sweet gold. Again next summer?
Thanks for your blessing. I hope we’ll have a harvest next year. So far it’s loving all the rain. Love “sweet gold”.
Gail: Yes to picking raspberries, no matter the cost! I can’t make a choice between raspberries and peaches. Both get blue ribbons! I love your “purple stains.”
Denise: A fig festival would be a wonderful adventure! I love them dried. I love your “sweet gold.”
[…] I’m still chasing my tail… So here’s a septercet poem from Margaret Simon’s This Photo Wants to be a Poem prompt from last week, that didn’t quite make it into her thread, thanks Margaret! Stop by […]