Pepper Plant Poem by Zachary Zuccaro

A pepper plant grows on the window sill
of a castle belonging to the emperor
of an unknown kingdom
between the lands of greed and generosity.
Two shadows are cast onto the leaves -
one in the shape of a circle,
the other, a triangle.
Every morning a stranger comes to water the plant;
every night some leaves grow greener
while others wilt.
after the epoch of prosperity
came the age of incredulity
which sank into the time of despair.
The peppers changed from green to red
but were never picked and began to rot.

Now black remnants of peppers
drip from the drooping stems
of the neglected pepper plant.