Jun 12, 2016 Free Verse, The Daily Post
Gentle Rain
©June 11th, 2016
By Vijaya Sundaram
Today, in the cool, gray light
Saturated with rain-damp
Happy to be alive and agile,
I shoveled rich, dark earth,
And cleaned out planters
With my husband and daughter.
Later, as I planted kale seeds so tiny
And celery and mustard, as small
And poblano peppers, I felt
A rush of maternal love.
I knew my small yard better now,
Having nourished and blessed
The womb of the sweet, clean soil,
Having walked its farthest edges,
Having weeded, and prepared beds,
Having watched over and watered
(With some anxiety, but mostly pleasure).
I could smell the sweetness of it all.
I saw little worms and blessed them,
And when chipmunks dashed behind stones
I loved them with a simple love.
And though all I’d done was prepare plant-beds,
Water and seed and pull up weeds,
I felt proud of the peas, the beans
The tatsoi, and lettuce, and beets all poking out,
Some growing faster, others more slowly.
Such hard work – all this growing they do!
And I was grateful to all my sweet flowers
And all the herbs that make the air sweet:
My lavender, mint, and oregano
All rich and swooning with fragrance.
To play in the dirt, and be rewarded
When things grow and reach for the light
When the air is glad with green,
And when a deep languor, a lassitude
Pours slowly down my blood-stream
Like heavy honey –
This is simplicity.
And today, I was happy for this:
This temple under a vaulting sky
Which bent over our bent forms,
As we worked, and blessed us
With a dispassionate blessing,
As gentle rain fell.
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