117 words
The garden has been left unkempt. Now thorn
and thistle thrive, burr, bramble and stinkweed.
The path that led to tulips, once well-worn,
is overgrown with wort and crabgrass seed.
What grand and stately gardens — Egypt, Greece
and Rome, though under the same sun and clouds
they perished. When great civilizations cease
existing their bleak ruins are but shrouds.
Thus we await the gardener’s return,
who careful, dedicated to his work,
makes certain the weeds, pulled and gathered, burn
efficiently, since others loom and lurk.
Cheat brome and hemlock plot behind the scenes
to overtake the garden and the path.
For him it’s not a war against bad genes,
but of survival, husbandry and math.
29 May 2013