Condemned or blessed to
Work seasons without
Rest, I stop where night
Wind worried blooms and
Branches down a drop
Against the ha-ha, and
See what awful thing
Departing winter worked
On nascent spring --
Ripped table umbrella,
Blasted trellis.
But before accounting
What else is in
Distress, I take my
Night-thrashed self
Inside and decide
How it should dress.
Personal note: As I believe you know, Geo., I took as my vocation what has been a marvelous avocation for you (if such twains can be made): I was an English teacher and you a professional gardener; I loved puttering in the garden; you espoused writing journals, poems, songs, stories. Because of this crossover I know what a "ha-ha" is (and I bet some others here will have to look it up); I saw it first when I was in high school and bought west coast and first East-West landscape architect/gardener Thomas Church's magnificent ""Gardens Are For People" in the '50s. We both know from our almost 40 year careers what you mean at the end by "I take my / Night-thrashed self / Inside" Thanks for this--and thanks for Norma's evocative photo of that!
ReplyDeleteI do hope folks look it up because 2 people knowing what a ha-ha is is like sharing a good laugh together, which indeed we've done many times. Thanks Will!
ReplyDelete