Disaster - Averted!

Plants get thirsty in this heat
With drooping heads they look asleep
But crispy edges curl their leaves
The message is – my terrace grieves.

I came back late from an event;
My mind elsewhere though I had meant
To fill to brim my watering can;
To douse them daily was my plan.

Next day, off early in the sun
So many chores have to be done
The evening came, I was not home
My desperate plants were all alone.

Disaster! Next day at high noon
My flowers genuflect and swoon
Their pert sweet beauty all awry
In two days helpless roots run dry.

How they reproach me for my lack!
But their loveliness springs back
Life-giving water makes repairs
I haul the blue can up the stairs ...

Plants, like kids, need constant care
You can't pretend they're just not there
The weather doesn't forecast rain -
Come sunset - I'll be back again!

(c) Poet in the woods 2018