Fred Garlic was a bad seed from a hard scape
Despite the odds, and having landed between a rock and a hard place, Fred Garlic grew
How does your Garlic grow?
They asked his mother, Mary
But she, bedecked in purple arraignment, only bowed again
Silent and hard and contrary
Fred grew clove by clove
Next to the Cockleshells
(Who we’re always loud and raucous)
He scraped by, scavenging minerals from the stones and sand and rock which grounded him
He longed for the day he would be free from this place
No shade from the sun
No shelter from the rain
….
Fred Garlic stretched his leaves high every year
His scapes were elegantly curled, and much admired
They flattered him well
“What a rich purple globe of flowers”
Fred was helpless in the face of this attention
Eager to please
Always avoiding the stony silences
He grinned his way out of trouble
Smiled his way out of difficulty
Faded into the shadows away from conflict
They pushed and pulled him this way and that way until he near spun in circles
Spinning top Garlic
Never close
Never too far
Mary glared silent
At the sprout
She had seeded
He would not do
And he did
He tried
He could not do
Yet he did
He tried
Nothing for himself
His work
His love
His mind
How to care more
How to keep everyone okay
How to make it all work
…
Fred Garlic met lovely Anika Allium one lovely spring after a soft rain
The sun had just emerged from the clouds.
In the warm light, Anika Allium’s pastel globes glowed gently
Her leaves curved gracefully
He began to speak to her of sunlight and rain, the best minerals
Anika Allium saw the crowds who surrounded Fred Garlic and let him speak to her
He didn’t see her distraction
She was full of energy
He explained away her absences
She was full of fun
And years went by
His circle thinned as he danced to the tune of this new thing
The dance of love
Powerful
Majestic
Harmonious
The dance of convenience
Of social standing
Of opportunities
Flows differently in a garden of rocks and hard places
Fred Garlic danced and danced and danced
Anika Allium said she was too hot
He shaded
Too cool
He withdrew
Fred Garlic thought until his thinker hurt
He planned and made strategies
He woo’d and wondered
Anika Allium grew cooler, colder, crueler
“What more can I do?” He asked
She left
And the sky thundered
Rain poured
Lightning flashed
The rocky area flooded
The wind blasted
Alone
Solitary
Lonely
Fred Garlic looked up
Mary said nothing
Kept her scapes curled tight
And Fred Garlic resigned
Superficial good times
Joking and hangin out
Aloof
Love though
Love is for suckers
And Fred Garlic knew he would
Never be that again
…
Fred Garlic cared for his friends
The few he made after Anika Allium’s departure
He cared for Betty Bonnet
He cared for Jasmine Jasmine
He cared for Cindy Sunflower
Life is too short not to enjoy it
Trouble was they would all leave him
What had he done but care for them?
Fred Garlic had beautiful cloves, all the plants said so
He was lonely but not friendless
He enjoyed the company of lovely flowers
He had given to everyone
When Jasmine Jasmine told him she loved him
He said he couldn’t commit
Cindy Sunflower was too intense
He backed away
Fred Garlic swayed in gentle breezes with Betty Bonnet
She was an exquisite shade of blue
Her laugh chimed
The rustle of her leaves
Always brought his attention back to her
When she said she wanted more from him than fun
He said he could not, but
She stayed
For just a while
Fred Garlic watched the exits
Betty Bonnet danced for him
When the sun set each night, she glowed
Fred Garlic counted weeks, then days, then minutes coated with a sheen of anxious dew
And then he broke
“Love is for suckers” he shouted at her
And she left too
Fred Garlic watched her go
Fine, he thought, she’ll find another plant and be happy
He looked at Cindy Sunflower, but she turned her petals away
He looked at Jasmine Jasmine laughing at Eric Ivy and his leaves drooped
He couldn’t look in Betty Bonnet’s direction for two days
Fred Garlic, he said to himself, look at her and see that she’s happy, and keep growing
He looked at Betty Bonnet
Her lovely petals were a dull blue grey, and her leaves were browning and bug-nibbled
When the breeze came through, the lovely rustle had become a scratchy sffft
Fred Garlic told himself it was not his fault
She could be happy, if she wanted
He determined that he would be happy and he straightened under the autumn sun
Luna Lilly caught him singing in the morning sun
Her ‘hello there’ brought him around
They spoke of morning
Fred Garlic saw the sunlight glow
Luna Lilly thought he set the stars in the sky itself
Was he wrong about love? He wondered
Could he risk love?
Learn to dance with someone, not for them?
Or would he close up like a dandelion at the end of each day?
He looked at Betty Bonnet.
Not only had she recovered her color, but her laughter chimed sweeter than ever
He saw she grew alone
A small circle of friends around her
When he turned back to Luna Lilly he resolved to try to let her love him at least a little bit
