Mary Oliver goes to the woods
And I go to my garden
Epiphanies bloom like flowers
I inhale aromatics
Taste parsley and mint
Coriander and sage
Make herbal teas from the Rosella
Lemon balm
And thyme
Bundles of chives, Kale
Bok choy
Choy sum
And the common lettuce
Are added to my breakfast
I pluck the weeds
that have had the audacity to bloom in my absence saying
“I get it, you have to live, but not here”
And there is an abundance of them
And they will grow back
A thousand thoughts a minute
The trick is to be consistent
Life is always presenting problematics to solve
No need to despair
The ups
The downs
They remind us
We are here
Star grass clusters against the fence
I bundle the wind blown debris
Taking great satisfaction
From this simple thing
Control over circumstance
Even if just for a minute
As I untangle it from the bases of flourishing newly planted trees
I notice my worries dissolve
There was a craving for this
But despite being metres from my front door
And just one choice away
A split second
I was too busy to see that far
Look up
restore
So if that is you today
Learn from my mistake
Step out of your head
And go outside
Whatever is waiting
And wherever it resides
Simply requires
A turn of the eyes
And if you lack a garden
Always and readily available
Is the ever lasting sky
Ola pots – clay water pots that continually water my garden gently when I become too busy or the weather too dry and hot. These have been a game changer for my gardening and the plants thrive without me having to micro manage every drop of water
This rose only releases her aroma when she is in full, almost over full bloom – a lesson there
