Love Is Zucchini After All

The poem my friend will not let me forget

some thirty years after he published it

now makes me cringe—a country western song

comparing broken hearts to broken cars,

portraying love as unexpected gifts

that fill the painful holes of childhood.

Since then, I’ve learned that John and Paul were wrong—

that in the end, the love you take is not

equal to love you make. Love is a verb;

it’s what you do, and not what someone else

may feel for you. Get off that Ferris wheel!

Give up the highs and lows and get to work.

Dig up some dirt and plant zucchini seeds.

Your green abundance comes from pulling weeds.