The following poem was originally published by The Bard of Murdock on Saturday, July 9, 2011. Important: read the Bard’s link before reading the poem.
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The Oak Park Outlaw
Article link: Oak Park Woman Faces Jail For Planting Vegetable Garden
The scofflaw, Julie Bass,
Rejected trees and grass,
And took to life of crime
With parsley, sage and thyme.
Her crime is avant garde:
The beds in her front yard
Contain illegal greens,
Like peppers, peas and beans.
Thank God the planner saw
Within the public law,
A means to prosecute
Before she planted fruit.
The plaintiff, Kevin R.,
The Oak Park planning czar,
Will see the line is toed
By pointing to the code.
But folks can misconstrue
What’s ‘suitable’ to do,
So Kevin has deferred
To ‘common’ as his word.
And what is more unique
Than cucumber or leek,
When planted in a bed
Where grass should grow instead.
Uncommon as they are
Outside a mason jar,
She’ll need to clear her yard
Of broccoli and chard.
Then justice will prevail,
And Oak Park can exhale,
Devoid of squash and kale,
With Julie safe in jail.
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Profile
- The Bard of Murdock
- My goal is to produce poetical cartoons. I try to use metaphors and caricatures (or a politician’s own words) to address complex political and social situations. In this way, I sum up current events in humorous verse.
Asylum Watch 
I thought that was an interesting story. Liberty to garden clashes with community standards and neighborhood covenants.
Many years ago I was roped in to serve on our county zoning commission. It was al that I could do to tollerate my fellow commissionors. None had any expertise yet they were each one on a power trip. They enjoyed making citizens jump through needless hoops.
“Don’t Tread On Me”…maybe these front-yard Commissars should start worrying about the weeds on Commissar Dingell’s property (http://theblogprof.blogspot.com/2011/06/video-report-john-conyers-takes.html)