Grandmother Toad

She arrived weeks ago

a slim, speckled, creature

hopping about, surveying her domain.

Her appearance was willy-nilly

days without once a sighting,

then evenings with just a glimpse.

Today was an off day

and spent it in the garden

trimming and transplanting.

The Pond needed topping off

thrilled to see Grandmother Toad

washing up on to the frog dock.

Rest of the day was spent

from the Pond and the garden.

O such a wiley one is she.

Patrolling for bugs, savouring slugs

returning for one last supper

then disappearing in to the garden.

heritage garden - haiku

phlox and hollyhocks
cabbage roses and lilies
heritage garden

Yellow Trillium

I have coddled you for years

in anticipation of your bloom

O yellow one, a sign, any sign of life

This year you presented yourself,

and what I yearned for most,

a blossom, a bloom, a Hello!

I adore your ethereal colour

transparent in sunlight, amongst violets,

above your earthly spotted leaves

Do not feel so alone Jaune,

two kin now share your shady home,

for me teach them how to bloom next year

Flower Full Moon

In the garden I stand shivering

while sleep escapes me,

I stare at the full moon.

Its purity of colour reflects

upon still water of the Pond,

and calmness surrounds me.

Once again I burrow

under warmed ancient quilts

and I surrender to dreams.

Seeking solace

What does one write in this time of strife. Do I write about the garden wakening in hues of blue and yellow? Of the earth warming as sprouts of Bloodroot and Bleeding Hearts break through reminding me there will be spring; buds on maples, lilacs, and apples while I seek solace in my garden; it grounds me and I feel a genuine part of life.

Now more than ever I need that solace. I need sun, sprouts, and birdsong. I need those, while taking calls from employees totally lost, seeking someone to guide them. I didn’t sign up for that and could say “it’s not my job” but I can’t. That’s not whom I am. And so I talk and listen to their crying and do my best to help them. But it takes a toll.

Life is cruel at this moment but honestly, it’s been a long time coming. We, humans, have poisoned the earth for hundreds of years, and I believe it’s pay back time. Governments and big business have waved aside the consequences of neglect for decades. I pity children and what they will need to endure in the following decades. It won’t be pleasant.

This is about political as I will ever post. ~sigh~ my mind can’t format haiku or sonnets, or even a bright post. My paints lay, abandoned. Scribblings remain unfinished in the journal. My focus is unfocused. I have faith that this will too pass while I putter in the earth...