On Home Gardening

May First - without the “darling buds”*

That should, in normal times, abound

This year a host of cowardly duds

As chill winds keep them underground.

 

The sun fights hard, it does its best

To warm the hedgerow and the field

Apart from weeds, no colour fest:

Flowers-in-waiting, unrevealed…

 

No purple plumes on terrace wall,

How wisteria loathes the cold!

I pruned it harshly in the Fall

And yes, it’s twisted, being old…

 

But one dry branch sports mauve and green

I dared to hope it would survive

For months no sign of life was seen

Now I’m rewarded – it’s alive!

 

Soft fruit and salad greens on sale

All carefully-nurtured – under glass;

While outdoors it’s a sorry tale

Home gardening this year is a farce!

(c) Poet in the woods 2021

* Written in 1958