CONVERSATION

Last night it rained,
a good soaker, badly needed.
This morning I went out
to talk to my tomato plants.
They told me that they
appreciated my watering efforts,
they really did, but . . .
"We wouldn’t want you
to think we are ungrateful,"
the Beefmaster said,
"but that sprinkling can
of yours is . . . well . . . pathetic."
The others nodded in agreement.
A few of them tittered.
I mumbled something in reply
and tried not to act insulted.
There is, they and I both know,
no substitute for the Real Thing.