Back when watermelon used to have seeds before it was bred out of ‘em, my two sisters and I would select the slices with the most ammo, duck and dodge around the gazebo, trying to see who could spit their seed the farthest and with the best aim. Perfection was all in the puff of the cheeks, and my little sister was a machine gun. Don’t think I ever won a round. But afterward, we’d all three girls join with the women under the cupola, cross our legs, tuck fresh slices in white napkins, and slowly sip our lemonades. Sunday bonnets blossoming around our faces. We’d nibble the flushed fruit, and talk about ladylike topics such as, how to pickle rinds or the newest hairdos or how Aunt Ruby was getting on. And the seeds, like our secrets, we spit discreetly into the folds of our napkins.
On the back deck, the leaves cartwheel in the wind. I slice the season’s first seedless melon for my children and think how much fun has been wasted. The bright lipstick pink looks vulgar without the freckles. But mostly, I remember how the fruit used to taste sweeter on account of those kernels of mischief.
No joy. Bombs away!
Ol’ watermelon brigade
is stoneless these days.
© 2022 | K.Hartless
d’Verse Poet’s Pub: Haibun Monday–Come celebrate summer with us.
Yard Sale of Thoughts 
It’s nice to have sweet memories of days gone by! I’m glad that you weren’t hit by the machine gun! ❤️
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Thanks, John. I might not of been the best spit but I could duck and dodge. 💜
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Yay! ❤️
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Loved this post! Thanks for a great read. Watermelons and sunshine ☀️
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Thank you, Simone. Is it even possible to fully enjoy one without the other. It was so hot here this past weekend it was the perfect time to crack our first watermelon.
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Ha, no it definitely is not possible! Yup, sticky heat calls for refreshing melons 🍉 😊
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😀
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Wonderful imagery and great memories!
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Thank you. 😁 Summer vacation with my grandparents was filled with great memories. Places I can only go now in my mind and in my writing.
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A great story haibun and your haiku is perfect. That slice of watermelon makes me salivate! There is no sweetness like watermelon. I too, liked to spit seeds!
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Thank you kindly, Dwight. I fear these competitions may be a thing of the past, as all the watermelons in our market were seedless.
Still the first one of the season was very refreshing, especially in our recent heat wave. Here’s to new summer memories.
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Thank you! Cheers!
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Haibun Time Machine takes me back. Thanks!
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A slice of the good life. 🍉😁
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You’ve taken us back to a time when watermelons held multiple promises. As one of my favorite summertime treats, this write has a special place in my heart. A delightful read this evening, K. 💜🍉
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Thank you kindly, Jeff. A slice of watermelon always reminds me of a beautiful smile. I’m so glad you enjoyed this throw-back hiabun. 💜
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That’s a lovely thought. Watermelons and a smile. Wonderful. You’re welcome, K. Always. 💜
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😊💜🦋
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Loved this K! My friends and I also opened gird with our watermelon seeds as kids in the “summer house”, an big, open air house with no walls. It is perverted seeing a watermelon with no seeds…
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Thank you for reading and commenting, Rob. I’m so glad to hear I wasn’t the only one on the Watermelon Platoon. Agreed. The seeds made the fruit.
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Loved this post K, watermelons own my heart. Thankfully, in my side of the world people haven’t moved on to the seedless kind and now I am afraid that they will, sooner or later. Thank you so much for sharing this beautiful memory.
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Oh, how lucky you are! Enjoy those kernels and keep up the fun for us. Thank you so much for reading and commenting on this slice of life hiabun.
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I’ll try my best on behalf of the other half of the world 🤗. And of course, I can’t read a good post and not leave my appreciation. Keep sharing, K.
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I have eaten seedless grapes. Did not know about seedless watermelons.
A very interest haibun.
These lines made me smile😊
“And the seeds, like our secrets, we spit discreetly into the folds of our napkins.”
Thanks for dropping by blog
Much💛love
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Thank you, Gillena. I liked that bit, too. Those secrets glazed over. Much love, K.
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I love this! We used to sit on my grandparents long verandah and spit watermelon seeds. There is something lacking in the seedless varieties.
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Thank you, Kate. What fun memories. Watermelon and summertime. Agreed, we need those seeds back.
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I so love the contrast of the crazy chasing and spitting and then the decorous eating and sitting. 🙂 Just gorgeous. ❤
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I was logged in as songshine this morning and that’s what I get for pre-coffee commenting. My apologies. That was me. 😉
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Thank you so much, Worms. I think growing up a girl in the southern U.S., life was a lot of those sorts of contrasts. I was lucky to be labeled the tomboy of three girls, as it gave me the ability to step outside of the parameters of what was expected, at least on occasion.
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Oh you have so deliciously taken me back to my childhood, K. And what silliness to edit out the seeds of a watermelon! Watermelon without seeds is just crunchy juice.
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Yes, indeed. Thank you, Misky. And the seedless variety are so uniform. Like I said, it’s like the freckles were taken out.
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Your Haibun is going to be one of my favorites! I am the oldest of three sisters …. your watermelon memories bring back so many of mine … long gone days. The best days.
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Oh, that’s wonderful. Thank you, Helen. I’m the middle girl, and I have so many fun memories of growing up in a household filled with girls. I hope to hear more of your stories in the future. 💜
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Nothing like munching on a juicy watermelon to cool yourself amidst summer! 🙂
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Yes, indeed. That cool treat makes all the difference on a hot today. Thank you for reading and commenting.
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What a fabulous haibun! I love that you shared a summer memory about watermelon. I think the seeds make the melon sweeter too!
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Thank you, Colleen. Reading all of these summer memories has me digging in my drawers looking for a bathing suit that fits. 😂I’m hopeful I can squeeze into one soon.
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LOL! Aww, you got this! 💜
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I so love this, K! I also love watermelons. 😊
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Thank you. It has to be its own love language, fruit. 😁
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Absolutely! 😀 You are welcome.
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I read this while on sabbatical: a gorgeous poem: fun, inventive with s serious intent. lightly applied —
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Many thanks, John. Doubly wide watermelons grin for you reading it on your break. 😊
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Amen to all this! So many technological ‘improvements’ have left life more barren. I was explaining how to form an air stream for playing a flute to a child, and I used the classic image of spitting out an imaginary stream of watermelon pits. Then I realized the kid had no idea what I was talking about. And those lame flimsy occasional white pits just do not cut it. 🙂 Good writing.
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It seems the future is always in anyway erasing the past. To be in that path of being swept away, it’s much different than to be working towards a new brush stroke.
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