An Occasional Poem: Cultivation

On the Books & Culture blog, Marcus Goodyear challenged us to write more poetry, suggesting a specific theme of cultivation. Here's my effort.

Garden

O how proud she was, my wife,

of the tiny salad she grew

in our friends’ backyard.

My two-year old, not inclined to greens,

pinched delicately one leaf burnishing purple

and remembered how he pulled it from dark earth,

then fed it through his lips and beamed.

“I eat it!” he declared in a way we should maybe use

of the body broken. 

                                          The leaves were bitter on the tongue

but  light and windy still

with the memory of fresh air.

We’re getting closer, we’re looking for,

the seeping Godness deep down things.

Deep down in things, bless it, that once were a gift

beyond price. We forget. 

                                                    We forget. Take and

                                                                                             Eat it!