Do you remember when we planted the garden
I tilled the soil and you followed behind
carefully making lines for rows
then lovingly placing each seed
about a half-inch deep
and covering it with your delicate fingers
arugula, kale, bok choy, and tatsoi

In late November we had enough
to make a salad each night
watching the cool rains

Once I touched your face
and it bloomed
as your smile does when we wake
and watch the dew on the lettuce
drip each second

Selected byNolcha Fox
Image credit:GreenForce Staffing

I am a retired entomologist/educator and have been writing poetry for a long time. It's only been in the last few years that I have taken it a little more seriously. I have written hundreds of poems, but still don't consider myself to be an accomplished poet. I keep trying through writing to find new perspectives that reveal the layers of meaning that are always there, just below the surface of the obvious. Some of the poets who have influenced me are W.S. Merwin, Ted Hughes, Dylan Thomas, and Galway Kinnell. However, lately, I agree with what the Poet Laureate Kay Ryan said: "I have tried to live very quietly, so I could be happy...It seems like many people think that if you drive yourself crazy, then you can write. I wanted to see what a fortunate life would produce. What writing would come out of this mind that didn't try to torment itself."