by Teresita Perez
Dinner is served. Come and get it.
I have peas, corn, and potatoes;
rice and beans, garbanzos, mushrooms;
cucumbers, lettuce, tomatoes,
avocados; oats, rye, millet,
barley, wheat, sunflower seeds,
filberts, almonds, cashews, peanuts;
olives, and many more treats,
like bananas, pears, plums, apples,
berries, grapes fresh from the vine,
oranges, papayas, mangos,
peaches, melons, kiwi, limes.
So come, please your sense of taste.
Receive the meals which are worth
blessings galore. All you need,
I have it. I'm planet Earth.
Yet there's more to bless you further,
for I was designed quiet well.
All precautions were considered
remembering you can smell.
Thus my garden is adorned
sporting lilies, iris, zinnias,
daffodils, daisies, carnations,
pansies, tulips, and gardenias;
also impatiens, petunias,
and plenty bouquets of roses,
poinsettias, violets, orchids.
A dream come true for all noses.
Additionally for joy,
to liven the atmosphere,
sounds of nature were composed.
Let me cater to your ears.
I'll always provide live music.
My cast sings throughout the year.
Their symphony's spontaneous,
a delight you'll love to hear.
Hummingbirds, parakeets, roosters,
robins, canaries, and sparrow,
are among my V.I.P.'s.
And the emcee is a parrot.
A debut of amateurs
like chickens, crickets, and dogs,
join in to spice up the concert,
as do coyotes and frogs.
But although you like those blessings,
they are really not too much.
And I'm going to treat you further,
for I know that you can touch.
So come to my petting zoo.
Experience milking a cow,
and shearing the wool of sheep.
Become a farm hand and plow.
Gallop at the speed of horses
holding their mane as you steer.
Feel the texture of an egg.
Be gentle with the shy deer.
The feather of geese are fluffy.
Come. Touch the elephant's trunk,
and the soft rabbits and squirrels.
At your own risk pet the skunk.
And now, for the grand finale,
I have a feast for your eyes,
swans and peacocks by a lake;
flamingos and butterflies.
In the background the mountains,
majestic, impress the scene.
Glorious they protect the valley
thinking that it is their queen.
It is an awesome landscaping,
and I know that you agree.
Delight in the waterfall
and the rainbow over me.
So come, dear friend, use your senses.
Enjoy the earth. I am yours.
I have everything you need.
With me you will feel secure.
But I must warn you of something.
Beware, for some day you'll fall
into blindness, deafness, numbness,
to have not one sense at all.
For the day you fall in love,
none of your senses you'll use.
You will hide behind my bushes
and to be wise you'll refuse.
And then it is, oh, you fool,
that you'll come to realize,
that my bushes, made for lovers,
is what makes me paradise.