Poetry / Linda Kleinbub

My father cradled the fragile tomato seedling.
Be careful with the delicate stem.
Placing the green plant into the small hole
We pressed down the soil.

Don’t leave any air pockets
or the roots will rot.
Digging in the garden
dad taught me

how to transplant the fragile fruit.
I understand his passion.
My father never taught me
to use a tool for weeding.

His advice was,
It’s easiest to do after a heavy rainfall,
when the ground is soft
and the roots can’t hold dirt.

He explained loppers, clippers, and tulip snippers.
On our knees, we pulled weeds
wearing worn garden gloves.

Linda Kleinbub is the founding editor of Pink Trees Press, curator of Fahrenheit Open Mic, contributing editor at Girls Write Now, & founder of Pen Pal Poets. Cover Charge (Autonomedia) is her first full-length book of poetry. She’s the editor of the Silver Tongued Devil Anthology (Pink Trees Press) Linda was one of six local poets invited to read at the Americas Poetry Festival of New York 2021. She earned her M.F.A. at The New School. Some of the places she’s been published are Best American Poetry, Brooklyn Rail & The Observer.