One must have a mind of a gardener

To regard the dirt with thoughts

Approximate to wonder, to live in
Fascination of the earthworm —

Pink hermaphrodite of the jiggling zither;

And to behold the Mrs. Jekyll rose,
To note the light’s addictive sugaring

In sun gold tomatoes

And not to think of quiet 
Promises in the winter’s chill and frost,

The past delicious juices, that in time
 
Attaches bitterness to skin, to rot, then snow —
Which alters the birds predictive packages of shit —

Companion to the gardener who knows

She must garden through the rain and in light snow. 

    Susan Rich is our poet in residence for May. 


    Previously: Present Tense: Seattle, and Profiled.