where you tend a rose, a thistle cannot grow

Seascape - Saskia Boelsums, 2026.

Ducht, b. 1960-

They were hunters, they were. Luca, Henry, and Otis Out for hours, when finally one of them noticed A herd of deer, oh how it brought them great cheer Tonight, they would pass around the beer! They took aim, they fired their shots Success was theirs, but like it or not Theo Zabinski, and his strange pet bird Would later crash their dinner, and make his voice heard “Well now, boys, you got some mighty fine steaks You know I had no luck and could not catch a break My freezer is empty, and I’d like to join y'all Surely you must show generosity to all?” The three were perplexed, disgruntled, annoyed But they knew Theo, and how his bird could destroy So they let him have a seat, grab a beer and eat But all took offense when he picked the best meat “You have no right! We pick first,” Luca cried out. Theo motioned to his bird, and things quickly went south “Call him off, call him off!” Luca pleaded and screamed “Alright, but first, I have a proposal, you see.” Theo rose to his full height, towering over the others “You will listen, or I swear, my bird is after your mothers.” “You monster!” They cried, but ears all peeled. Theo said, “You must bring me Ida O'Neil.” “You’re insane, but I’ll try,” Luca yelled through his pain “Fool, you must promise!” Theo bellowed with disdain. “We promise, we promise,” Luca said, quite panicked And then Theo spoke, his bird no longer manic  “Bring her to my home at 9 Thunderbolt Lane.” And with that, he left, the men not quite sane. ~~~

Hey, it’s still March in certain timezones.

How does one kidnap Ida O'Neil? With her medical knowledge and pies that appeal To lure her in the woods out to Theo’s sad shack Was surely impossible, that had to be a fact And yet off they marched the very next day Each one not knowing what they should say It was Luca that did it, that walked to the garden And did his best to finish what he started The others stayed behind as he made his approach “Ida, ma'am, I–I don’t mean to encroach, But I have some information that I think you would find To be very well worth a small portion of your time.” He spoke these words with confidence, Ida could not deny “Go ahead, then,” she said, with a smile real wide He took a tiny breath before he continued, “There is a baker who says her talent could beat you "She hides away out in the middle of the woods And you ought to show her who’s boss, you really, really should.” Ida’s eyes lit up with a raging fire “Let me fetch my things, this situation is dire.” Off to the woods they went, Ida with a bag She was ready to compete, to best this boastful hag So imagine her surprise when instead she met Theo in his shack with his nasty feathered pet And so on that day Ida became a missing person And the health of the village began to steadily worsen They sought out clues on where they may find The healer extraordinaire and baker of pies They gathered together and had a discussion They talked and consulted and Luca was busted He was the one last seen with Ida, he’d have to bring her back He’d have to get her out of Theo’s woodland shack “And if I don’t?” He asked, prickly as a burr “Then you’ll never hunt again, of that we’ll make sure.” The people all agreed and thus it was decided Luca loved hunting so of course he abided He would do it alone since the people were scared silly Of Theo’s crazy bird and physical activity The cops didn’t help because they simply didn’t exist The village of Asgard took care of its own business When Luca asked his two friends if they would come along They told him no, he had to right his wrong He was not very happy but he knew it was fair And the thought of never hunting, he simply couldn’t bear

He fetched his best camouflage and went out to the woods He knew he was close when he smelled those baked goods And luckily for him, Theo was down by the river He went a little closer and saw the door was open a sliver She was trapped in the kitchen, among pies she had made Her glare could kill, Luca was almost afraid But with a hasty explanation, he had her freed And back to town they quickly began to flee Theo chased after and when he caught up He crested a hill and knew he messed up Otis and Henry seized him, overcome with anger Theo was now banished, to them he was a stranger