FRED IS GONE...FOR SURE

FRED, my pet earthworm from  Decenber
    (Remember him?)
is gone, for sure.
    He first went missing in February.

Fred was a good pet...he didn't ask
    for much.
He was happy with left-overs from
    the kitchen....
Stuff past its prime; a pet should
    be able to eat leftovers;
People do.

(I sure hope he liked old bologna--
    We gave him plenty!
Seems like there is an old saw---
    "Worms love baloney.")
Have you ever heard that?

Another thing about earthworm pets---
    You don't have to walk them.
Let's face it, they don't have
    an energetic bone in their bodies!
Just "laissez-faire"...leave us alone.

Yes, Fred is gone...
    As I suspected way back
in February.

We thought he might have lit out
    for a better life, so I wrote
a tribute then: "ADIOS, WORM."

Then we kinda forgot about him.
That is, until tomato-planting day
    this past Wednesday.

Digging and stirring the soil
    in each Earth Box as we planted
our tomatoes, in one box
    we found Fred. No doubt,
it was Fred. I recognized him.

Our hearts went out--he looked bad.

It is unpleasant to say, but when worms
    pass, they dry up skinny-like,
as a dried-up rubber band.
    It was awful.

Shrunken....that was Fred.

We immediately ask ourselves:
    did we feed him well?
Did we over-caffeinate him with
    all those coffee grounds?

Noted biologists say: worms love
    to eat bacteria...e-coli and stuff---
The grosser---the better.
    "It is like ICE CREAM to them."

Wherever worms go
    I hope Fred is enjoying
some chocolate or rocky road
    right now!

******30*****
BY MIL
5/30/14