NaPoWriMo Day Six (2016)
MY SWEET ASH!
I know, I know, I know, I know
The borers hit their mark,
split and shriveled up your lovely trunk,
cracked your lovely bark.
~oh, woe~
I cannot, cannot, cannot do it,
cut you down, I mean,
you could, you might, you may leaf out
to shade the hot back scene.
~oh, yeah~
La la la la la la la
my eyes and ears I cover…
if I refuse to see, to hear
perhaps you will recover.
~selah~
rJo Herman 4/6/16
3/23/16
All the live long day,
Wind
And relentless
Heavy, wet snow.
Frozen pines hang low,
Next door cherry is bent to the ground,
But the willows, tall on the hill,
have been blown free of cover
and are waving almost gaily,
without intended rudeness.
…and they call the wind…
PRE-SPRING
DON’T BLINK, OR YOU’LL MISS IT
I was reminded of this by another’s blog this morning.
*** *** ***
A beautiful little crab apple was planted out back.
She bloomed bright pink each May.
Heavy, Spring snow broke her one year,
But, determined to keep her, I trimmed her back,
and she continued on,
though without as much enthusiasm as before.
I patted her trunk and whispered,”looking good,”
Each time I mowed the lawn.
Three springs ago, seven years after she broke, she bloomed with complete abandon;
Beautiful and bright on every branch.
I couldn’t help myself.
I took out my sheers to bring the blooms inside.
Just as I snipped that perfect branch, the entire top of the tree tipped towards me,
then fell to the lawn…
and the perfect tree died.
I’ve not replaced her.
rJo Herman 1/31/16
HAIL THE CONSTANT FLICKER
A flicker
Sits on the highest branch
Of the tallest willow
In the yard next door
Catching the first rays
Of sun
As each day breaks
With promise
rJo Herman 11/7/15
SPRING ANGST
C’mon, God… this stinks
it won’t stop raining
the sky is grey
the air is chill
Yeah, yeah, I get it… You’re right
the garden grows
pumpkin sprouts push their way to the surface
sunflower seeds split and stretch
roses flower on the hill
and poppies, thick with swelling buds
promise blooms on Memorial Day
*** *** ***
“Earth is here so kind, that just tickle her with a hoe and she laughs with a harvest.” –Douglas William Jerrold
INVENTORY.4 Perennials
Peony sprouts are knee high, leafing out
Species geraniums full and budding
Tulip blooms are spent
Coreopsis crowd the grey green yarrow
Daylilies litter the back hill and fill the front garden
Asian lilies push skyward
Purple grape hyacinths match the purple vinca
Purple vinca choke out the white blooming strawberries
and just now a rabbit nibbles on fresh daisy leaves
and the bearded irises race the Siberian irises for first place.
Chives around the roses have not yet gone to seed,
And, of course, dandelions crop up everywhere,
unwelcomed and promptly ripped up, just to laugh from another spot.
and the poppies promise blooms for Memorial Day like those in Flanders fields.
5/1/15
rJo Herman
INVENTORY.1 4/28/15
I lost Julie’s old red with its long, arching canes,
and the big pink I planted just last year.
The miniature blush Jeri gave me when Ruth died
finally gave up the ghost; it’s tiny stems brittle.
I see no life in Moonshadow out front
(but I hear Cat Stevens in my head)…
and the David Austin damask is gone.
Nevertheless…
Heirloom, Evelyn and Prince are sprouting fresh red growth!
The thorny prairie growth that came up uninvited fifteen years ago
is bristling with new leaves amongst its orange hips, and Hansa, Meidland and another couple scragglers whose with crimsom and fuscia blooms are giving a stretch on the hill.
Oh! and the ever returning carpets are ready to give it a go.
Roses. Check.
rJoHerman 
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