2007/unexpected

Through all our unexpected
frost,
the lavender has held on.
The first plant to bloom.
It endures heat and drought,
as well.
I must put in more of it.
I’ve dreamed of uprooting
the whole yard,
the useless, thirsty grass
I kept, in case
we wanted to play badminton –
we never have, of course –
and putting in lots of lavender
and edible herbs.
You can eat lavender too,
but I don’t.

The challenge is, as always,
the distance between the vision
and the actual fact.
Grass dug up, plants set in,
sprinklers re-arranged
as they’ll surely need
to be.
Who to do the labor,
the actual work,
where to put the plants,
the path.
Decisions, planning,
beginning.

2/6/07