John and Marry Stan Phillips

John and Mary

by Stan Phillips

John and Mary were lucky. They inherited a beautiful house, with a lovely garden in which all manner of fruit and vegetables grew in abundance. Not too much though, but enough to keep them fed for the rest of their lives. If they were careful. Content John and Mary. And they had enough resources to heat the beautiful house in the winter. And keep it cool in the summer. John and Mary moved in, and for a while all went well. Weeks turned into months as they fed carefully, only eating what grew in their lovely garden, and planting seeds to replace what they consumed. Sensible John and Mary. They watched the birds and bees flutter amid the trees and flowers. And butterflies brought bright colour to their lives as they sat on the verandah to watch the sun set on their magical days. Happy John and Mary. But, as time passed, the children they had been blessed with filled the house with friends and frolicking. And more rooms needed to be lit and heated, and more food from the garden needed to be consumed.

Worried John and Mary. For there was only so much land. Only so much space for growing fruit and vegetables and flowers. And soon the food began to run out. Hungry John and Mary. So what they did, was to chop down the trees, and pull up the hedges, and rip out the flower beds, to make space for growing food. And the birds stopped flying in. And the bees stopped bumbling by. And the butterflies stopped filling the garden with glory. And John and Mary had to work harder and harder for less and less.

Poor John and Mary. They looked at their beautiful house, overcrowded, noisy, too cold in the winter, too warm in the summer, and began to starve a little. Looked at their once lovely, abundant garden and sat and watched it turn to dust.

And didn't know what to do about it until it was too late. (almost?) Unlucky John and Mary.

Stan Phillips is a poet, musical podcast maker, part-time wannabe male model, and occasional stand up comedian. “I used to be a psychotherapist/ counsellor when I had an honest job. I was born into prewar London, and attended 17 schools (my father believed they couldn’t hit a moving target) and I eventually finished up here in Ireland. Still wondering what I will be when I grow up — but enjoying writing my quirky poetry as I do so.” Discover more about Stan on Mom’s Favorite Reads website: https://moms-favorite-reads.com/moms-authors/stan-phillips