A Blade of Grass
It's a minor eccentricity
That, I must recognize
Or perhaps an affectation,
That I now no longer mow my lawn
And so early mornings you'll find me in the front yard
On my hands and knees pulling up blades of grass
'Twas the old man who lives in the park who encouraged me
To continue my tribute to Sisyphus's boulder
Having found me hand weeding that evening
He was quick to point out the classical analogy
For the task promised to be never-ending
He noted the more common name for the wild knotty grass
I was striving with difficulty to pluck with arthritic hands
Exquisitely adapted to our soil, and fittingly named:
Eternity grass...
Now a connoisseur of the various types of grass species
The commercial ones, much loved by our Latino brethren
Lawn care is a quintessential family business in America
Putting entire families - villages, through school
At church the Belizean grandma would pray for God's strength
A catch in her throat, pausing before she started speaking,
Strength to sustain the impact of the merciless summer heat
They were all out there, outdoors, dealing with clients's landscapes
Amen, I joined her in prayer, solidarity and admiration
And wonder too, contemplating infinite vistas of grass
...
At one with the earth, inclined towards the textures of the soil
Tempered ambitions, comfortable with this uneasy life
Returning fortified with inspiration to these blank pages
Settled and finally ready, clasping in my hand a blade of grass
Soundtrack for this note
- A Blade of Grass by Keith Emerson
I prefer this quiet piano piece to the original band version from Emerson, Lake & Palmer
The book is done.
This note concludes another collection of toli, my fifth collection of poems, written over the course of five months in 2022. Hopefully it will escape hypertext into physical form sometime soon. As usual, it is an article of faith, the hope that these pieces might resound long after they were conceived (years even) but such is my asylum.
I call it A Comfortable Unease. Start your reading with High Tech Luddite
File under: life, Creative Process, culture, observation, perception, whimsy, poetry, toli
Writing log.
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