Hilary Sallick
City Garden

I pulled up long ropes of vines
I cut the earth with the shovel's blade

Then       like a child      I found things
and arrayed them
pine cones    oyster shells      acorns

feathers    flagstones
in bright clean lines

I made places      a here      a there
a design to walk
among the violets and wild geraniums
that grew everywhere in a tangle

Soon I grew aware      of a smell
wafting from the densely leaved
hydrangea      darkness where an animal
might shelter      

and from an open window        the sound
of a woman sobbing      or laughing
arose      and went on a long time

<< return to the Table of Contents for New Series #5: Summer 2018, Volume 3 Number 1