Florida nemesis: Dioscorea bulbifera
AKA air potatoes
Took India’s advice
Boiled them to see if bitterness
Removed, rendering them edible
But no, these are not the yams
I know and love
Vines resembling Kudzu
A nutritious root
Although likewise invasive
But no, just air potatoes
Laughing at the government
“Management Plan”
Continue to choke garden plants
Felling Live Oaks
Stranglers
Serial killers stalking
(Pun intended?)
My sheltering yard
Working on the trees and bushes
Lining the swamp
Where my wild birds sleep
And feast on suet
The good news?
Those other serial killers of nature
Insects
Have discovered the tastiness of
Air potato fronds
Decimating the leaves
Leaving them lacy-looking
Each day I cheer them on
About time they leave my
Collard greens and pumpkins
Corn and ginger
Alone
And kill something
Murder-worthy…
© 2015 Clarissa Simmens (ViataMaja)
