Tag Archives: garden

ETERNAL GARDEN

After the heaving winds of Winter

blow across the face of Earth

dropping heavy rains in ceaseless floods,

the blazing winds of Summer force heat waves

upon plains and forests and fire up

an atmosphere of heat and drought. 

The plants in my garden are anchored

beyond the sound of my pleading voice

begging them to live , if not for me,

then for every butterfly and bee

as if Earth might survive

by some miracle, as have I;

beyond cancer scares and chronic ME,

and fibromyalgia that brings me to my knees.

Yet, like Earth I continue to survive 

and even thrive.

No future generations of my DNA

will I leave behind, but seeds

that blow on restless winds and bury their heads

in fertile soil across the garden I have spread,

and breed new life in a new garden

long after I am gone.

This may be my only immortality.

Or, perhaps there is more

in a place yet unseen but hoped for in my dreams,

built on faith and fed by love

Felt in such ecstasy of our union,

its solidarity a true communion

where we explore the truth that

we are not alone, anymore.

The whole world, not merely Earth

is ours to explore,

building hopeful memories to outlast

the fear of loneliness from the past.

Our loving connection gives such strength

even death cannot break the bonds

of love and life meant to survive an eternity.

We are in this together, you and I.

One thing I know for sure;

like the garden, our love will never die.

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HAIKU

MAY FROST

Photo by Mariya on Pexels.com

First light. What a sight !

Tulips hold their petals tight.

Ice came in the night.

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GARDEN LESSONS

Louise Annarino, garden photo 2021

HAIKU

Inert seed unearthed,

breathing air unfiltered now

by soil, can’t grow.

Oklahoma Conservation Commission Soil Scientist by U.S. Department of Agriculture is licensed under CC-CC0 1.0

LESSONS LEARNED

You have to eat a pint of dirt before you die.

Eating dirt creates immunity.

Now, tell me why

we disinfect what is written or aired.

Tell me why we only care

for news that entertains

yet fails to create community.

Do we deliberately divide the seed

until nothing worth digesting can grow

in gardens allowed to stay fallow

to feed the greed of those who make money

on fields laid to waste covered in words

sweeter than honey?

The last few minutes of every news show

tells a story to touch the heart.

To make certain we continue to believe

the world is better than we think,

despite what was said only moments before.

Can we not take facts straight any more?

Do we need others to tell us what

we are seeing; then tell us not to believe the sight?

Because, everything will simply be alright.

Dirty though the world may be

it is our right to make it what we will

by planting our own seeds

in the fields of our own minds

where it can then grow solid and whole.

The worms move the truth through dirt

enabled by microscopic insects

up the roots and into stems

until blossoms see the light of day.

Just, give us the dirt, and be on your way.

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RUNNING TOWARD WINTER

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

As frantic squirrels gather nuts

I hurriedly gather friends to my garden;

creating memories to last the winter,

locked deep in darkness,

as the nuts squirrels store

beneath the soil,

to be dug up as needed.

If only I can recall

where I put them.

If not, they will be reborn

when Spring returns

and friends gather once more

to bloom in full splendor

which far exceeds the memory

of what went before.

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HIBISCUS

L. Annarino, acrylic on canvass, August 2022

The faces of flowers tell stories;

each face a different tale of glory.

None more remarkable than that

of Hibiscus, a woman of hidden depths

born from rough and heavy seeds

in rocky yet fertile soil.

Hibiscus bursts forth bold blooms.

Her color lights up dark rooms.

Held tight and upright to the light.

Suddenly, Sun eases her open

to the brilliance of her display.

She awakens and turns her face,

ready to say what she needs to say.

Such boldness does not last long.

A ballad, no symphony, her song.

Her life is a striding measure,

a dance to her own tune, all day long.

Life is short, no matter how strong.

Some flower cycles are not prolonged.

Still, I treasure each face she creates.

Their smiles hold me in place

and allow me brief moments of grace.

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Ruby Slipper Hydrangea

Photo 8/7/22

Innocent white petals first unfold.

Pink hearts softly begin to show.

Soon her petals redden in the sun.

All innocence comes undone.

She begins to slowly grow old.

Autumn stealthily takes its toll.

Finally, she turns russet and gold.

Such changes offer chance to survive

The winter of a life which thrived.

Lesson from the garden to live by.

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LETTER TO EMILY

Dear Emily, you taught us that

“Hope is a thing with feathers

that perches in the soul.”

That thing with feathers also

perches on bush and tree

and carries seed 

to remake the world from 

dark and crass

to life renewed 

as flowering blooms 

and melon vines which zoom

across the flower beds 

so carefully planted 

and now supplanted

by delightful fruit.

We call such wonders volunteers.

I call them hope’s pursuit of faith

dropped into dark soil 

by things with feathers;

expanding our gardens

and our hearts, too.

Never has the phrase feathered friends

rung more true

than in a garden making amends

by feathered seedlings born anew.

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THE SPIDER BY THE DOOR

Photo by Jeffrey Lawton on Pexels.com

We have a fraught relationship, the spider and I.

She weaves her web along the trim of my back door.

And when I water the garden I turn the hose to clear

the mess she’s made once more.

She now is in a snit worse than any she’s shown before.

For now she weaves her web across a larger field,

snagging the handle with her sticky spit and bugs galore.

Now, exiting through the back door means

walking through her web covered in cotton glue.

Getting into a power play with a spider is not wise to do.

I can almost her her snug refrain, “Hah! I got you.”

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CALM AND COOL HOPES

Photo by Mayu on Pexels.com

The heat of the night

left a scorched dawn.

Crimson and gold flames

marched across earth’s brow.

Silence held court

over insect and birdsong.

Canons blew measured beats

throughout the night to face

ceasefire at dawn.

Even the cicadas are silenced

under the strain of clouds

threatening a refrain of rain

over and over and over again.

The battlefield of flowers 

hold the whispered beat

of life-sounds’ defeat.

There is a beauty to such calm

where life is pinned down

to lie in wait for safe return

of cooler days and nights.

One could choose weariness.

One could choose delight.

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AFTER THE RAIN

Morning flows unabated

by the weight of leaden skies

which slowly open to reveal

a gloriously reddened sunrise.

Clouds quickly scatter

before guttural winds

losing their breath

as day begins.

The garden awakens

to birdsong and mirth

of butterflies and bees.

All is well on this Earth.

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