Cucurbita

My cucumbers had bloomed

The first harvest, a small bounty

Tendrils, climbers, leafy shoots

White blossoms wherever you see

 

But that was not the only first,

Yellow ladybirds were seen as well

Cutest guests in my garden green

But little then did it ring a bell

 

I would gaze at them, their elytra wings

Endless photos, polka dots,

I adored the reds, here were lemony ones

Whirring ‘bout like little robots

 

But in a span, weeks of few

The cucumber plant began to wilt,

Was it the sun? Was it the shade?

The gardener me was filled in guilt

 

Until I found larva strewn

Upon the leaves, now brown and dry

Tiny grubs all gold and black

Beetles indeed, I had to sigh

 

Which to save, which to die

A Hobson’s choice whatever I do

Let nature take a call, I said

Either way, I will have to rue

 

Summer went, the beetles thrived

Tiny Volkswagens zooming round

When autumn came, they flew away

Wings not meant to be tied and bound

My plants meanwhile had dried away

The battle won not long ago,

No more gourds left, no more bugs

Me alone, and the seasons’ flow…

 

15^th November 2025

 

Inspired by true events – while beetles are often considered healthy for the garden keeping pests such as the aphids away, they also love the Cucurbita family (pumpkins, gourds, cucumbers, etc) and will descend in droves in the right conditions.