1. Weeding Foxtails
weeds like
dry thoughts
scatter
proliferate
I hand-pick them,
meditate to calmness,
to grass only
pick them as they sprout;
enjoy their spunky inconvenience
gentle, firm,
unsentimental
weeding
pull
release
pull
release
2. The Flowers
The blooming purple cosmos
clamor for attention.
Fragile, blue love-in-the-mist
are having another go of it.
And the roses say
they just don’t feel like talking.
3. Mockingbird Chick
How can so many feathers
be scattered from just one chick?
And what did the cat do with the bone body
after playing with its frugal meat?
4. Potatoes
The potatoes know they are potatoes.
From open-eyed starters buried lightly in the dirt,
they shoot beautiful, healthy, green potato foliage
into the spring air,
while bubbling unseen
beneath the surface.
And when a squirrel,
digging for a walnut,
uproots a potato before its time,
the potato is still
a small, joyous, brown and starchy
potato.
5. Blue Snails
thankful for tiny blue snails
looking at me
from my finger
then trusting enough to
relax
extend
and crawl again
to an even better safety
6. Asparagus
To listen to the asparagus
as I walk barefooted between the rows
where they so clearly and unencumbered
grow.
To learn how to just be
what I am.
To relish,
as I spread fresh compost on their roots,
the cool, wormy earth that feeds.
To just feed.
To let my mind be still
as I spread straw on top of the fresh bed.
To bury my head between these tall, ferny
freshmen, these newcomers who know
how to dig deep beneath themselves
and how to gently rise.
