on prospects of returning home, June 11 © 2007,  Bob Komives of Fort Collins

Gardens of Pleasant Regret

 

I wish to see the garden,

the gardens—the tenth of an acre around my house—

        hard surfaces I laid down,

        soft earth I dug up,

        the green,

        the hues-floral,

        successes after decades of error and trial,

        the done, undone and yet to do,

        a patch of lawn that will need cutting,

        weeds that will have erupted,

        and gifts from good seeds that dropped in.

I wish to smell the smell,

listen to squirrels, birds, and gate,

and I wish to walk with pleasure and companion

as I hear—with pleasant regret—