Why I Garden

She has roses she doesn't want
because they require too much care
and tending
But I
Enjoy the shaping of things,
the caring for the living,
seeing it bloom.

To tend a garden is to tend a soul
To know the rising and the falling of the day
Noticing how flowers turn to face the sun
The way leaves wilt or curl before the rain
So it can reach the roots
and nourish.

Sometimes the gardener must be cruel to be kind
A plant after pruning
looks dead
Bare wood, cut back to almost nothing
as Winter comes

But look again in the Spring
and you will see the great gift
the greening of the world.

Beltane

Today is one of those days that I'm longing for home. I miss my people, especially on holidays like this one. I keep wishing for excuses to have a ritual / party, but there isn't anyone here I know, other than a couple former students, who would be interested, and inviting former students over just seems weird. So it's a lonely Beltane. It's probably too wet to have a fire tonight anyway, but that's ok. I'm going to plant something in my garden when I go home - roots to roots - maybe that will help me feel a little more connected to what really matters.