RAVE REVIEW

RAVE REVIEW

The smart set had inched forward
Through the rows
Of lettuces and onions, summer stuff
That still means something
As a year wears on—
Those wedded to those meanings waited to
Release them, just a few spurts
At a time
Of their own choosing, late in fall, a light
Of golden motes filtering down through trees
And wires the warblers
Had abandoned for
Oncoming winter, storms still out at sea
In long lines, waiting
Northwest of the Bay.
To give up, to confess that one has failed
His spin class, just because he shows up drunk
With lust for ladies prettier than he,
Is sobering. But to stand around the way

We stood around the garden
Like scarecrows,
Just soaking up the blessings, crazed with light
And time, and so to fill the whole ram’s horn
With plenty, though we’ve angered several trees,
May be forgiven, if justice is done
To what the garden gives us.
Let the air
Be redolent of light and color where
Tomorrow we’ll be
Found with our bouquets
Of lavender, and marjoram, and sage,
As fall comes on. — Wild Goose Chase
And Blue Moon
Can be our theme songs, sixty years ago
They were atop the charts!
Time to bring back
The kind of longing that carried us here,
Bewildered, where a wilderness of vines
Hangs in the balance,
Just before the rains
Include us in the winter’s plans for us.

Tomorrow I promise to have made time
For gardening with boots on, —
Should the sun
Decline our invitation, we’ll still be
Strapped to our task, unbundling the light
Of gardens,
And we’ll all breathe easier
As day gets busy, erasing what’s lost.

For Jeremy and Deanie