about a beautiful girl standing alone in her garden
ruffled hair crooked glasses pajama bottoms sagging
her crunched expression hints at a beauty
that runs far deeper than her storebought tan.
head full of worries, hopes, fears and
details of details untended.
her babies smile back at her:
contented cat, eyelids drooping in the warm sun
pink foxglove, nasturtium the color of fire
leggy sunflowers not yet bloomed.
they need her care.
she needs their love.
right here, cross town she's lived
as summer turned to fall and the fall
brought the winter rains
and the years lined up to shuffle past like that.
behind that garden gate she's stood
straight and tall and alone
standing tall like an elm
against a dark blue sky
not feeling the hot sun
not feeling the cold wind
not counting the seasons
shuffling past.
kneading rich soft earth with strong thin fingers
and placing seeds like gemstones
and praying in songs barely audible.
to her tale there is no end.
no beginning.
no story, really.
just this beautiful girl
in this beautiful garden
behind a tall fence
guarded by a locked gate
in her little corner
of this blue world turning
moving across the fathomless sky.
