Race Horses And Cantaloupe

We listened by Radio in 1950
as Middleground won The Derby.

"Don't talk to me of Triple Crowns."
Aunt Ruth said, "Your Uncle Lewis
made millions raising cantaloupe
and lost most of it racing horses."

Vess, A very short but appropriate way of telling the evils of gambling.

Steve

Hi Steve,

You are right about the evils of gambling. Lewis had an even worse problem. He raised and trained the horses others bet on.

One of these days I will write the story of his horse "The Ox". The Ox ran second in races all over the country and never ran first. He would run second to horses he could easily out run, and had in other races.

My Grandfather knew why but never told his brother, Lewis. If I can figure out how to shorten the explanation of horse psychology enough to fit in a poem, I will tell you why The Ox could cause Lewis To beat his head on a post and Aunt Ruth to say, "I knew it, I just knew it."

Vess

Vess,

This made me smile. I love the feistiness of Aunt Ruth. But mostly I loved the detail of the cantaloupe. That added a level of wonder. If they hadn't actually raised cantaloupe you would have had to invent that. It is the shine on this piece.

mayo

Vess,

An interesting tale. Might the moral be 'reep what you sow, but don't bring it to the track'?

Just adding a bit of humor. Gambling is such a destroyer of people's lives and livelyhood in truth.

As for a crit - I'd love to see you employ some inner rhymes if possible, so it might read a bit less prosy but tha's completely just my opinion to take or toss as you wish. Perhaps there's a bit more detail you can add about the fruit farm?

Enjoyed this,
~Cleo

btw, I understood this poem not to be about gambling but about the racing of horses, which implies the raising or owning of horses, a very expensive enterprise.