ripe kousa dogwood fruit clings;
pudgy, dotted red geometric spheres
stubborn, they dare first frost’s fingers.
laughing on dry mulch, fallen friends
(are) disinterested in season’s test
Note: the Cornus Kousa (kousa dogwood) is not a native to the U.S., but there are two of them growing at my dentist’s office, right outside the door. This does give a “twist” on kigo, but since these are alive and well here in Michigan where I’m at, I think they qualify to be added to my kigo list.
kigo: ripe kousa dogwood fruit, first frost
Gogyohka form
Colleen Chesebro is the host of Tanka Tuesday.
Tao Talk 
Nice, I love when our dogwoods get those red berries!
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D.L., do you eat the fruit?? I ate one and it tasted good. Not the skin and watch out for seeds.
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I never have eaten it. I will have to see if our variety is edible.
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Your poem is lovely, Lisa! Yummy red berries 🍒.
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I want to plant some of these trees for the yard. We (the other critters and I) could share them :)
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What a lovely idea, Lisa.😊
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Nice post
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Thank you.
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Oh what a lovely poem Li.
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Thank you, Sadje.
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You’re welcome Li 💜
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This made me smile, I love the idea that the fruit dares the frost – bring it!
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:) Thank you, Paul!
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My pleasure Lisa :)
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Lovely in all ways. (K)
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:) Thank you, K.
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Of course everyone else used that word too–but it is.
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When I first saw it…I thought it was dragon fruit…but then I look it up…nope. I never had dogwood fruit before…I never heard of it. We must have them here.
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It’s a fruit that tastes good, but the skin is inedible, there are grape-sized seeds, and there isn’t much to eat. Nice for a treat.
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I’ll have to look around for some.
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Lovely, Lisa! The red berries hang beautifully, and you’ve captured that well. 😊
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Thanks much, Gwen :)
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We’ve got this srub/tree up the street. They are a pain to walk on… so I do try to avoid them on the sidewalk. :)
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OH I can imagine they would be a slippery hazard to walk on!
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We’ve got someone who I think has some kind of pear tree that they don’t clean up after – what a mess. At least the house that has crab apple trees – they mostly fall in their yard.
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Great feel to this 💜💜🍁🍁
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Willow, thank you <3
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Lisa, this is brilliant! I didn’t know dogwood had fruit. They almost look like a strawberry, don’t they? What a great kigo! Well done!
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Colleen they do have a strawberry gummy look to them. More like a peach inside. Thank you :)
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It’s a great kigo word. Very unusual!
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Lisa, your use of personification is masterful…
<3
David
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David, thank you, friend.
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Such a beautiful picture, Lisa. Your poem is lovely, Haven’t seen dogwood in our part of the world. Looks like a strawberry. How does it taste?
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The inside is sweet and pulpy, like a peach. Not much to it really, it would take a lot of them to equal the insides of one peach.
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Oh, ok. That’s a good description. I kind of get the idea. 🙂
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:)
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