My first poem to share - about my grandmother's garden

Okay, I'm finally doing this. Please be gentle - this is my first time sharing anything.

I wrote this about my grandmother who passed last year. Her garden was her whole world.

What She Left Behind

The tomatoes are still coming in,
red and splitting, too ripe to pick,
but there's no one left who knows
the difference between ripe and ready.

Her gloves hang on the hook by the door,
leather soft from years of work,
shaped to hands that will not come.

I try to wear them
but they are hers -
the fingers too long,
the fit all wrong.

The zucchini have grown monstrous,
hidden beneath leaves she would have parted.
The beans are climbing into sky
with no one to call them back.

I stand in her rows
and do not know
how to be the one
who stays.

I don't know if this is any good. The ending feels weak to me. Any feedback would be so appreciated.

EmberWords, this is beautiful. Truly. For a first share, this shows remarkable skill.

What works so well:

• The specific details - "leather soft from years of work," the monstrous zucchini, the splitting tomatoes
• "Shaped to hands that will not come" - that line stopped me
• The way the garden continues without her creates such powerful absence

On the ending: I actually think it works. "How to be the one who stays" carries so much weight - the survivor's guilt, the impossibility of filling her role. But if you want to strengthen it, you could try making that last image more concrete. What does "staying" look like in the garden? What specific action would she be doing?

But honestly, this is strong as is. Thank you for sharing it.

I agree with RiverStone - this is impressive work, especially for someone who's new to sharing.

A few thoughts:

1. The difference between "ripe and ready" is such a clever line. It works on multiple levels - the literal (gardening knowledge) and emotional (readiness for loss).
2. Consider whether you need "but" in "but there's no one left." The absence is stronger without the conjunction: "there's no one left who knows..."
3. The gloves stanza is perfect. Don't touch it.
4. For the ending, what about grounding it in a specific action? Something like "I stand in her rows, / pull a weed, / and do not know / how to be the one who tends."

These are just suggestions - the poem works as is. You have a real gift for concrete imagery that carries emotional weight. Keep writing.

I'm crying reading these responses. Thank you so much. I was so scared to share.

The suggestion about "but" is really good - I can see how it's unnecessary now. And I love the idea of adding a small action to the ending. "Tends" is beautiful.

This community is amazing. I'm so glad I found you all.

Coming in late but I had to say - "the fit all wrong" with its slant rhyme to "come" in the previous stanza is lovely. I don't know if that was intentional but it creates a beautiful sound echo.

Welcome to sharing your work. It's scary at first but it gets easier. And your writing is worth the vulnerability.