Pickle Sisters, by Jordan Trethewey

promotion photo, photographer unknown, 1920s

​Pickle Sisters

Remember, Dad?
You said,
If you love pickles so much,
why don't you marry one?

Well...
here are four.
One-hit vaudeville wonders:
The Pickle Sisters.

They're not really siblings.
It's all an abstract act,
multi-layered showbiz sammich.
These girls the latest garish garnish.

How can I choose?
My conundrum bitter-sweet.
Left to right:
Dill                                   Delilah
Sweet                              Susan
Gherkin       formerly     Ginny
or
Kosher                             Katherine

Fancy all that deliciousness
preserved in a jar.
Smart shopper, I have sampled
cucumber cuties.

Don't blush, Father,
for I fancy myself a Gherkin--
obviously.
She smiles, unafraid,

takes full advantage of
the full fifteen minutes.
She understands irony--
a toothless smile,
whistling harmonies,
are acquired tastes,

but do not preclude
interest in a lush life.

Jordan Trethewey

Jordan Trethewey is a writer and editor living in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada. His new, frightening book of verse, Spirits for Sale, is now available on Amazon from Pskis Porch Publishing. Some of his work found a home here, and in other publications such as Burning House Press, Visual Verse, CarpeArte Journal, Fishbowl Press, The Blue Nib, Red Fez, and Spillwords.  Jordan is an editor at https://www.redfez.net/, and a regular guest editor at The Ekphrastic Review. His poetry has also been translated in Vietnamese and Farsi. To see more of his work go to: https://jordantretheweywriter.wordpress.com.