Phaseolus vulgaris (Common Bean, String Bean)

A poem by Jenny Isaacs

Dilled

I learned to pickle dilly beans from Mary.

We picked the 'Provider' variety,

toddlers in tow:

whole paper bags full of bush beans to overflow

into mason jars with a garlic clove,

sprig of dill, a certain number

of peppercorns. Wiping rims,

simmering lids, the spiced

brine of vinegar water and salt,

releasing bubbles (stir

of chopstick in hot jar).

Canner steaming, dangerous thrill

of full boil! Submerge

the jars, tong them into their artful cage

sink them down

while the water flattens

don't look   don't watch

it will boil again as long as

you don't check,

that's thermal magic. Timing,

hoist cage and tong again --

everything tidied now, clean towel

waiting -- set those jars down

like hot glass eggs

and later, hear from the kitchen

gentle pops, like the sleepy smack

of lips as a baby naps:

the sound

of lids snicking down

on the dilly beans we canned together

not so long ago,

though long enough

for children to grow.

Hear Jenny read her poem:

Phaseolus vulgaris (Common Bean, String Bean)Jenny Isaacs

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Forty-plus years after receiving her B.A. in poetry, Jenny Isaacs will publish her debut chapbook in 2026 with Finishing Line Press.  Her poems have appeared in Pedestal, Up the Staircase Quarterly, Thimble, Mezzo Cammin and Bulb Culture Collective and are forthcoming in Neologism Poetry Review, Pulsebeat, and Willows Wept.

Image: Canning together by A.C.